In Africa everyone is starving... because they want to win the Miss Burkina crown?

When I am teaching development economics, I always try to remind people of two things.  First, the economy of even the poorest developing country includes people who earn their living by drawing cartoons.  They are part of the economy too!  And second, even the poorest developing economy also has a service sector that includes beauty contests.  But one never hears mention of "beauty contest service sector government policy", and microfinance doesn't seem to include beatuy contest promoters and contestants in their panoply of deserving borrowers.  Why, though?  The beauty contest is a service sector activity, just like any other.  Or is it?