Heavy Chef got a chance to catch up with the CEO of Mxit, Alan Knott-Craig, before his debut at our next Heavy Chef event this month (I hope you booked your seats in time!). Mr Knott-Craig gave us some insight into their involvement with Stellenbosch’s free Wi-Fi, as well as some new projects on the horizon. Here is a small taster of what is to come next week.

Hi Alan. So how do you think other mobile messaging services such as WhatsApp and BBM affect Mxit?

We lose users to BBM and WhatsApp because the Mxit experience on iPhones and Blackberry is poor. Simple as that. Fix the User Experience and you fix the churn.

Mxit partnered with the University of Stellenbosch in providing Stellenbosch with free Wi-Fi. How did this come about?

Actually the Stellenbosch Municipality asked us to help. It is their initiative, we’re just coming to the party with some technical expertise and bandwidth. It all started with a chance meeting with the Mayor on Church Street in December 2011.

Do you think free Wi-Fi may expand into other towns in the near future?

I’m sure it will, but we’ll limit our involvement to Stellenbosch.

Tell us about programmers soon being able to create their own applications for Mxit, and the quest to create an economy for micro-entrepreneurs?

The new API program be will be ready soon. The idea is for anyone to be able to create apps or sell content within Mxit, provided they stick to the rules. The wallet and store enable millions of young Africans to become micro-entrepreneurs overnight.

What new ventures does Mxit have in store for 2012?

One of the most interesting projects is Pondering Panda. Surveys and voting via social media, especially targeted at the youth, has the potential for revolutionizing our understanding of what most people think.

Thanks Alan, we look forward to hearing more about this at our Heavy Chef session next week! Follow Alan Knott-Craig on Twitter here.

Read more posts by Wendy Tayler

Wendy is the Editor in Chief at Heavy Chef. After 3 years cooking up a storm at UNISA studying English and Communications, Wendy decided to mesh her passion for writing with her love of digital. She firmly believes the world is moving into the online sphere and can be found writing, tracking down great names for interviews, or singing her heart out at the World Wide Creative studio.

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