MXit: Knott-Craig announces restructure, job losses expected

The recent acquisition of popular instant messaging platform MXit, the biggest in Africa, came with the promise of big changes.

Now the company’s new CEO, Alan Knott-Craig Jnr, has put his money where his mouth is by announcing a “company restructure”, meaning more focus, more innovation and job losses.

Knott-Craig says his new plans involve focusing MXit on what he believes it does best.

“We are a communications platform, that what we are. We need to stop doing everything else and do what we do best and that’s communication,” he says.

Speaking to Memeburn exclusively Knott-Craig explains that the company’s new organisational structure at MXit “will leave some people without jobs”.

“We are not going to make the mistake companies like Facebook have made, by trying to be everything to everyone. We are just going to be a switch with a wallet component that allows people to hook in via an API.”

“I consider MXit to be a country. A country has citizens, enterprise and an economy. The wallet component to the platform is the key for monetisation by third parties.”

Knott-Craig explains that all stand-alone products and businesses at MXit will be “spun out” and that “eventually everything will be privatised”.

The temptation, he believes, is that it’s “exciting” to be in all spaces. He would rather let someone else develop other products like games and use MXit as their core delivery platform.

“The restructure has nothing to do with individuals, it’s simply case of moving back to basics. We are a communications platform, not a games company or a gift company.”

*Watch out for Memeburn’s exclusive with Alan Knott-Craig on the future of MXit