Gaona Dintwe is the true definition of the modern female entrepreneur and media personality who is not afraid to break new ground and is driven by a true passion for media and love for people. This is evident in her extensive repertoire of work in the Botswana local media industry and the various facets that come with it. She is a storyteller who enjoys helping people tell their stories. She strives to create and showcase premium content about Africa and her people through various media platforms. She is an ambitious Motswana woman, whose brand is best identified with her work on radio and TV and lately as Executive producer of GaonaLive Productions and a sought after Speaker, Corporate event Facilitator and MC. One of her work highlights has been the Presidents Initiative Youth Town Hall hosted by his Excellency the President Dr. Masisi featuring American Businessman, Entertainer and Author Steve Harvey which Gaona had the privilege of facilitating.Gaona has a BA in Communications and Media Studies from the highly ranked Monash South Africa.
(Radio, TV and Youtube)
GaonaLive Productions
Gaona’s journey in media started off when she joined Radio Botswana 2, RB2 to its loyal listeners, in January 2006, as a radio presenter. From the onset, Gaona won the hearts of many, a love she carried with her throughout her radio career. Urban Flavas was an adult contemporary weekday mid-morning radio show that catered for the lovers of insightful human-centric talk accompanied by good music that is the perfect blend of classic and current hits.
She showed her versatility when she joined the local Botswana Television, BTV, as one of its morning show hosts, which airs daily from 06h00 to 08h00. This proved to be the best move for her career as it catapulted her into the faces of Batswana, further cementing her as the darling of radio and now television and as the only presenter with two live shows every weekday. She extended her media talents by also being a news reader on RB1 and RB 2 and was a news anchor on BTV.
In November 2015 Gaona founded GaonaLive Productions, which is a female run Premier Television Production company and Online Channel, currently hosted on two platforms, being GaonaLive Online and NOW TV- channel 290 on DSTV. The GaonaLive YouTube channel currently has had over 173 000 views, 75 video uploads and 2520 subscribers. GaonaLive Productions boasts a wide range of programs that celebrate Africa and her people, starting right here in Botswana. It is a platform where viewers get to see Real people telling Real stories - stories of overcoming, transformation and success that we hope will inspire and empower the GaonaLive viewers, thus the Gaona Live tag line "THE PEOPLE, THE STORIES".
In May 2014, Gaona went to the USA as part of the inaugural cohort of the Young African Leaders Initiative, Mandela Washington Fellowship, President Barack Obama’s commitment to investing in the future of Africa. She was one of 15 Batswana selected to join a group of 500 young African leaders sent to 20 institutions across the USA. She got to spend 6 weeks at the Ivy League YALE University undergoing training on Business and Entrepreneurship and went on to meet President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Gaona went on to spend a further 3 months on internship at The International Center for Leadership Development Nigeria - ICLDN, in Lagos Nigeria, an organization that strives to nurture and develop leadership skills in High School and tertiary students.
Gaona founded an apparel brand in 2018 which focuses on local production of bespoke women’s sleepwear, loungewear, and headgear which are comfortable and chic . This brand signifies and celebrates the strength of a woman, as she persistently and resiliently rises and transforms into the best version of “her”.
Her biggest outpouring is her passion for young women, whom she has taken to mentoring. Gaona passionately mentors young ladies who seek guidance in their journeys to discovering their purpose and would like to make an impact in their communities, her main aim being to help them develop self-awareness, to be self-assured and empowered agents of change and community leaders. She also gives motivational talks to students across the country, out of school youth as well as different social groups
Gaona has over the years, become an Endometriosis activist and advocate, a chronic female reproductive condition she has been diagnosed with, that affects an estimated 176 million women worldwide, and in worst cases causes infertility. Gaona therefore has championed various initiatives to create awareness on the condition. She is also passionate about destigmatizing infertility and creating awareness on fertility treatment/assisted reproduction, which is not affordable for most women and generally not easily accessible. Through her Gaona Dintwe Foundation she hopes to raise funds to assist people challenged in their family building journey’s, get the access to reproductive care they need to reach their resolution.
Being the all-round media entrepreneur, Gaona took her brand onto social media and amassed a strong following especially on Facebook. Through her “GaonaLive” platforms she currently has a cumulative following of over 250 000, which has proven her popularity amongst Batswana and has positioned her as influential in the digital space.