Sesame Workshop hires social enterprise exec Onyinye Nwaneri as MD for South Africa

Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organisation behind Sesame Street, has appointed Onyinye Nwaneri as MD for South Africa.

Onyinye Nwaneri

Nwaneri will be responsible for leading Sesame Workshop’s operations in the country and long-term growth strategy into Africa, with Sesame Street’s South African copro Takalani Sesame.

Starting her new role in January, she will report to Lesley Bourns, Sesame Workshop’s senior VP of international social impact.

Nwaneri was most recently CEO of Afrika Tikkun, a social enterprise made up of a non-profit child and youth development organisation and a commercial recruitment, training and placement company.

She spent 15 years in various roles at Africa Tikkun, before which she worked with the United Nations Development Programme, South Africa-based Regency Foundation Networx, and practised corporate, commercial and litigation law at various law firms in Nigeria.

Bourns said: “For over two decades, Onyi has built a strong track record as an organisational leader in the social impact sector in South Africa, building and guiding programmes that support children’s development starting in the critical early years.

“Her extensive background in driving strategic, operational growth, along with her passion for impactful development programmes, will be invaluable as she leads the Workshop’s South Africa team into an exciting new chapter of growth and innovation.”