Height: 5’9
Hometown: Winnipeg, MB
Languages: English, Chichewa, Nyanja
Occupation:

Towela Mkanda, representing Manitoba in Miss Universe Canada 2025, is a dynamic entrepreneur, future law student, and mental health champion who exemplifies the power of turning personal challenges into community solutions. Having recently written the LSAT and serving as Founder and CEO of WHOA Wellness, Towela has built a thriving business that has served over 2,000 individuals across Manitoba and internationally, with clients from Malawi, the United States, Europe, Montenegro, and various other countries since 2022. Fluent in English, Chichewa, and Nyanja, she brings a multicultural perspective to her advocacy for accessible wellness resources.

As a certified yoga instructor with specialized mental health training, Towela has developed innovative wellness programs that combine in-person and digital services, establishing significant brand recognition in Manitoba’s competitive wellness market.

Her academic journey includes a degree in Advanced Global Political Economy from the University of Manitoba, where she served as a Student Board of Director and maintained academic excellence while building her business. Her future legal studies will focus on advocacy, justice, and community law, with plans to integrate legal expertise with wellness advocacy.

Towela’s community impact extends far beyond her business, encompassing youth empowerment through mentorship programs, financial literacy workshops, and speaking engagements at schools and community centers.

A previous board member of the Congress of Black Women of Manitoba and currently an executive board member for ACOMI, she serves as the youngest board member ever elected to the organization and created ACOMI’s wellness club, which serves seniors, youth, and families every Sunday for three weeks of the month. She has been featured on CTV Morning Show and UMulticultural Channel, with her success stories covered by Bell Media and Rogers TV. Her platform “Wellness Without Barriers” focuses on four core pillars: mental health accessibility, youth empowerment through education, entrepreneurship as empowerment, and community wellness integration.

Inspired by her late aunt who was Miss Malawi, Towela carries forward a family legacy of service and representation. Through Miss Universe Canada 2025, her main goal is to help those in need regardless of age, gender, and socioeconomic status attain wellness, believing deeply that “we all deserve peace.” She aims to amplify her mission of breaking barriers that prevent people from achieving their full potential, demonstrating that wellness resources should be accessible to all.