ICT innovation in South Africa: Lessons learnt from Mxit

In the last decade South African innovators have produced two game changing innovations: Thawte and Mxit, the former for Internet security and the latter for mobile messaging. It is of interest to understand what it is in the local system of innovation that has enabled such innovations to emerge. Mxit is one of the first instant messaging systems to be freely available for almost all mobile phones. From a simple text service it has now evolved into a multimedia platform that offers gaming, education, community support services, and that is poised to enter the money transfer and payment market. The paper locates this development in the context of the telemetry sectoral system of innovation of South Africa, and the innovation ecology of the city of Stellenbosch that is designated as `Silicon Vineyard.' Mxit has particular importance as a means of bridging the various divides that continue to characterize post-Apartheid South Africa.