Ex-Mxit boss admits IM startup 2go is a threat

The South African tech scene is quite abuzz with news of Alan Knott-Craig and post-Mxit information. In a recent Memeburn article, some insight was given into his time and the mobile social network and why it came to an abrupt end.

Now, in a video interview discussing a post-Mxit life and how Africa’s supposed largest social network fitted into his own company, World of Avatar, the former CEO has admitted that small instant messaging startup 2go could be a threat to Mxit.

2go is a startup based in South Africa that currently boasts just over 10-million active users on the continent. The service’s strongest market is Nigeria with just over nine-million active users compared to Mxit’s less than a million.

Responding to the interviewer Charl Norman of Bandwidth Blog, Knott-Craig says although he cannot speak for the social network now, he can say that during his tenure, 2go was on the company’s radar.

“They [are] not close to as big, but they’re a great example of how you can be a lean startup in an African context… literally there are 10 of them, I think, two of them until recently. They have built something incredibly successful so those guys are doing great,” says the mobile entrepreneur.

He explains that although one can look at them as a threat to the company, it is also important to note that the more successful startups are in Africa, the better.

“…are they a threat to the likes of Mxit? Yes. On the one hand you can look at it as a threat, on the other hand you look at it as another [of] the rising tide and I just think in general the more startups that are doing well in South Africa and on the continent the better everyone’s gonna do.”

2go, which currently employs a fraction of Mxit’s almost 150-strong staff, has gone from startup to profitable business in four years.

See Knott-Craig’s full interview below.