Mxit has scored a major coup with news that social media visionary Michael Jordaan, former CEO of First National Bank and recent recipient of the CNBC Africa Business Leader of the Year for Southern Africa award, will become chairman of the board.
“I have been watching Mxit with interest for several years now,” Jordaan says. “It is difficult not to have a sense of pride about a home-grown South African company making such an impact in the social media and mobile space. It was an easy decision to join as chairman and I am looking forward to playing a part in the future of Mxit, both in South Africa and internationally.
“Mxit is a really cool company and has built some world-first innovations over the last eight years. I have spent some time with their development and design team and they have shown me some of the projects they are working on, especially in the smart phone space. I look forward to the announcements that are planned over the next few months,” he adds.
“One specific aspect of Mxit that I believe is unique is how Mxit is leveraging their technology to help people, particularly in the fields of mobile education and health care,” Jordaan says.
“Michael’s appointment is a great coup for us. I am sure he has been inundated with offers, and to become part of the Mxit team is a vindication of the direction we have taken and the innovation that is happening within Mxit,” says Mxit CEO Francois Swart.
Mxit recently announced that its monthly active base of 7,4-million users spend an average of 95 minutes a day on the social network, making it the most engaging media platform in South Africa.
“Mxit is in better shape than it has ever been,” says Swart. “Businesses and organisations are experiencing the power of Mxit as a way to reach consumers, resulting in record-breaking advertising revenues almost every month.”
According to Mxit’s monthly brand index, the top three brands on Mxit have well over a million followers, indicating that Mxit is a fertile ground for brand and social media engagement. Following the recent announcement of ‘Mxit Launch’, its publishing platform for creating pages on Mxit, the company is opening up even more of its services to agencies and brands.
Mxit has also seen a number of brand partnerships since announcing ‘Mxit Launch’. In the last year alone, brands such as Vodacom, SPAR, BlackBerry, Unilever, Mainstay and KFC have used Mxit Launch and joined the platform. In the run-up to the 2013 elections, political parties such as the ANC and Agang joined rival DA, which has been on Mxit since 2012.
Mxit’s shareholders are also excited about Jordaan’s new appointment.
“Having a business heavyweight of Jordaan’s calibre on the board of directors is no doubt a sign of great things to come from Mxit,” says key shareholder Paul Harris.
Jordaan takes over from Roger Grobler, who remains on the board as non-executive director.
