The former SABC public relations manager Zandile Nkonyeni has been appointed as Amazon Prime Video's head of PR for Africa to oversee the streaming service's media communication for its TV shows and films, as Amazon gears up to create local content from South Africa and Nigeria.
The PR position was advertised in April together with a string of other Amazon Prime Video jobs in South Africa.
The PR position is based in Cape Town, where Amazon is pushing ahead with plans to create its new African headquarters and where Amazon is in the process of a hiring spree for marketing, social media and other positions, as well as experienced TV executives, primarily based in Cape Town.
Amazon Prime Video's expanding African team will commission and promote new African-produced content from South Africa and Nigeria as Prime Video competes with streaming services like Netflix SA, Apple TV+, Disney+ and MultiChoice's Showmax.
Zandile Nkonyeni whose former work experience includes being a publicist at the Total Exposure PR agency and Ster-Kinekor Films, was the former SABC2 publicity manager who got upped to head publicist for the SABC's three TV channels in October 2013.
She held this position for seven years until March 2021 when the South African public broadcaster retrenched over 600 staffers including all of the SABC's publicists, and rehired just one.
Zandile Nkonyeni joins MultiChoice's former Showmax content boss Candice Fangueiro who jumped to Amazon Prime Video Africa, as well as Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu who was the regional director of M-Net West Africa and who is now Amazon Prime Video's head of Nigerian Originals in Africa.
In her new PR role Zandile Nkonyeni will have to develop and execute the public relations strategy for the South African and macro-Africa region, and lead local PR campaigns for Amazon Originals, exclusive content, the Amazon Prime Video service and Amazon Studios.
