Then, it was 7. Everyone was. Under its last chief executive officer CEO Francois Swart Mxit looked to introduce some clarity on its reporting methods and moved to bring Mxit in line with advertising industry standards.
But in the eyes of advertisers, the damage was done, something felt particularly keenly by Mxit at a time when its user base was falling anyway.
It has been one hell of a ride at Mxit over ten years, something which may well have contributed to the general lack of direction at the company. Heunis founded it, Naspers invested in it.
There were rounds of retrenchments, couple with unsustained stabs at expansion. After its early years the company never really looked settled and happy enough to succeed. What really was Mxit anyway?
A private messenger service? A community engagement platform? A public chatroom? Essentially, it tried to be all of those, especially with the rollout of Mxit 7. Trying to be all things to all people may have been one of the reasons for the companies eventual failure. Many startup founders will tell you that, in the initial days at least, it is advisable to do one thing, and do it well. It boasts more than 43 million registered users of its free mobile instant messaging and social media services in countries.
New registrations are being clocked up at a rate of up to 50 a day. It has been endorsed by the Department of Basic Education for widescale maths instruction, the Indonesian government for disaster relief, and the US State Department to promote the visit of president Obama to Africa. Unlike global rivals Twitter and Facebook, MXit claims to generate profits as well as growth. Revenue is garnered from advertising, chat room usage and content sales. With MXit delivering such impressive numbers, why is Heunis getting out?
MXit has been my life for most of the past eight years. Heunis is confident Knott-Craig and his fellow executives at World of Avatar have the necessary energy and passion to drive MXit forward. The task that faces Knott-Craig and his team will not be easy. MXit pioneered the instant messaging business and took an early lead over most of its rivals. However, the market is fast maturing and there's stiff competition from several international heavyweights.
Furthermore, MXit's foray into mobile social media, with the provision of entertainment, games and payment services on the back of its messaging facilities, is likely to become increasingly tough as multinational giants such as Facebook and Google move aggressively into this market.
Heunis dismisses naysayers who suggest MXit is past its prime. The opportunities for MXit are endless. I can think of at least five ideas that could be real game-changers.
Why compete with smartphones, for example? The son of a Namibian sheep farmer, Heunis began programming as a teenager in Windhoek in Soon afterwards, he moved to Stellenbosch to obtain a B. He married a local girl and, apart from a brief stint writing software for the Navy during his national service, has remained in the university town. Fiercely single-minded, Heunis acknowledges that he is better suited to starting technology companies than managing big businesses.
It has a staff of people. I don't think my real strength is running companies - it is starting companies. World of Avatar has bold plans for MXit. MXit boasts more than 30 million users in Africa.
Knott-Craig, who succeeds Heunis as CEO, believes the extensive reach of the MXit service, its proven robustness, support of many different handsets more than 3 and high penetration of the youth market give it an advantage over rivals.
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