Mxit is betting on feature phones and social change to help it battle other messaging apps in India

More and more people in developing nations are turning to mobile messaging apps instead of SMS. As they do so, they’ll find that there’s a huge variety of social messaging apps to choose from.

WhatsApp goes for cool simplicity; Line and WeChat try to throw as many features at people as possible; Viber and Nimbuzz have the option of phone-calls. There’s something for everyone. The African messaging app Mxit is trying another angle – placing an emphasis on feature phone users, group gatherings, and discussing social change.

Mxit already has over 10 million registered users across Africa. To be as accessible as possible, it comes with apps for Nokia, BlackBerry, and various Java-based phones, as well as for more modern platforms like iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.

The company’s first venture outside of its home nation of South Africa happened earlier this year when it rolled out in India. There’s an now an Indian office, headed by Mxit India CEO Sam Rufus, who wants to see the messaging app grow in what he calls a “previously excluded segment” in India – among feature phone users.

Over half a billion feature phones

The latests figures from IDC show that 78 percent of new phones shipped in India last year were feature phones. That means 212.3 million new sub-$100 basic phones versus a mere 44 million smartphones. Rufus adds that, in grand total, India has about half a billion 2G-equipped features phones in use – most of which are Nokias. That’s the area Mxit is aiming at.

Mxit is placing an emphasis on public group chats – called Chat Zones in the app – as it battles rival apps for new users. As a country that’s embracing mobile web usage over desktops or laptops, it could be the first destination for new internet users in India, just as BBS and forums are in many nations. Rufus adds that the social network isn’t troubled by growing uptake of smartphones: “We’re not threatened by it. We can graduate with users as they upgrade.”

Those chat zones within Mxit can bridge the gap to smartphones, he adds, so that public group discussions can take place between people on iPhones and feature phones. Groups can be about anything, as they’re created by users.

Social change

In addition to those groups, Mxit is setting itself apart from rival messaging apps with Mxit Citizens forums, which are being used by a number of NGOs to discuss social issues with ordinary people. These other forums are created and moderated by Mxit. These forums can also be used for other purposes, such as for e-learning or counseling sessions with certified experts. The Indian crew is now talking to UNICEF about starting online classes inside the app – something that has already been done in Africa on Mxit.

All those extra features, including profile pages, make Mxit into a broader social network – a bit like a mobile-only Facebook. That’s something apps like Line and WeChat are trying to do as well. Mxit also has brand and celebrity pages.

But Rufus sees Mxit co-existing with Facebook in India, and says that the app-within-the-app feature – that’s also how things like the NGOs are accessed – allows people to login to a sort of Facebook mobile site from within Mxit. So the experience is complementary.

Aiming at over 10 million Indian users next year