Lalela Mswane

Pageantry Mswane began her pageantry career at the Matric Experience 2015 pageant, where she was the first runner-up.

On 6 July 2021, Mswane was announced as one of the 30 competitors for Miss South Africa 2021. Following a series of interviews and public voting, she was announced on 3 August as one of the ten semifinalists who would appear at the televised finale. As Miss South Africa, Mswane received an array of prizes and rewards, including R1 million, a one-year residence in a fully furnished apartment in Sandton, a one-year lease on a Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and the opportunity to represent South Africa at Miss Universe 2021.

Miss Universe 2021

Mswane received widespread criticism within South Africa for agreeing to compete in Miss Universe 2021, which was set to be held in Israel, due to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Despite the criticism, the official Instagram account for Miss South Africa confirmed in a post with comments disabled, that Mswane would still be competing. It said: "We are not a political organisation and The Miss Universe pageant is not a politically inspired event." On 14 November 2021, the government of South Africa withdrew its support to Mswane to compete at Miss Universe 2021. On 27 November, Mswane posted on her Instagram account that she had decided to participate in Miss Universe after weeks of absence. On 13 December 2021, Mswane competed at Miss Universe and ended up as second runner-up.

Miss Supranational 2022

On 15 February 2022, the Miss SA Organization announced that Mswane would represent South Africa at the 13th edition of Miss Supranational. During the pageant's preliminary activities, Mswane reached the top 10 at Supra Fan Vote, top 22 at Supra Influencer, and top 11 at Supra Model of the Year. At the pageant, she won the competition, becoming the first black woman and South African to win the title. Her victory also marked a back-to-back win for Africa.