New African social media apps in the pipeline

South Africa’s new communications minister said this week’s outage of Facebook apps and services is a reminder the government can do more to support the development of local social-media platforms.

The creation of Naspers-backed messenger service Mxit (pronounced "mix it" ) was evidence local companies can produce successful technology with the right backing, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said in a Q&A with reporters on Tuesday. Mxit had 7.4 million monthly active subscribers in 2013 (created in 2003), according to consultancy World Wide Worx, but collapsed two years later under competition from the likes of Facebook’s WhatsApp.

"South Africa needs to support young people and citizens to develop social media platforms that we use," said the minister. "We cannot be dependent on the West for our technological environment, we must drive this ourselves as a country."

Facebook services including WhatsApp and Instagram were down for about six hours on Monday, shutting out many of its 2.7 billion global users. The incident has led to worldwide introspection about the extent businesses and individuals rely on the $1 trillion company, - alongside fresh criticism that it has too much power.

South Africa is working with state-owned IT firm Sita about how government can support local social-network initiatives, Ntshavheni said. The Department of Science and Innovation is another institution that could help out, she said.

ps. Nairaland has not specifically been singled out as the competition, but u get the idea

SA social networks have shown potential to be big players on the continent. At its height, Mxit had 7.4 million monthly active subscribers across the world until closing shop in 2015.

Other globally competitive apps from SA included 2go which had over 50 million users (with a fifth of that in Nigeria alone) but have since collapsed under stiff competition from Western startups.

finally, nigerians girls will rest from alfa mails.

sunshineV:
finally, nigerians girls will rest from alfa mails.

So you think it's only in Nigeria we have Alfa males

.

Dalil8:
Never heard of them before.

How exactly is it gonna rival Facebook?

Mxit spin-offs like 2go played that role. Obviously Facebook is now more evolved.

2go

You guys will just keep doing apps upabdan without maintaining it
U started 2go, where is 2go now
Mxit where is mxit uh?
Mxit dat u claim then had over 7million subscribers
what later happened? the thing crashed after 2years or so
Look at Ayoba
Ayoba dat Mtn will just b disturbing someone with sms to download
ive never seen an app as useless as dat Ayoba

Dalil8:
Never heard of them before.

How exactly is it gonna rival Facebook?

small pikin like u. Ebuddy, 2go, kobrawap, mjoy etc.

Mastakija:
You guys will just keep doing apps upabdan without maintaining it
U started 2go, where is 2go now
Mxit where is mxit uh?
Mxit dat u claim then had over 7million subscribers
what later happened? the thing crashed after 2years or so
Look at Ayoba
Ayoba dat Mtn will just b disturbing someone with sms to download
ive never seen an app as useless as dat Ayoba

LOL , sorry bout that. I also don't know what Ayoba is all about - never tried it out before but I do get the pop-ups.

Mxit lasted for over a decade - not 2 years. It was created in 2003. The report was highlighting it's maximum count of users which was in 2013. As much as there was competition from Western apps, Mxit had also become increasingly notorious for sexual predation and paedophilia. That bogged it down.

This guy is a very patriotic south African.

Unfortunately, your social apps can't fly.

You guys can't write two sentences without including Zulu or xhosa in between.

CSTRR:
This guy is a very patriotic south African.

Unfortunately, your social apps can't fly.

You guys can't write two sentences without including Zulu or xhosa in between.

Lol , you mean like the posts below? I've been on NL for 3 years despite the excessive use of pidgin. So you'll survive SA forums as well.

That logo look like MI logo frm xaomi

And you are using Nairaland to tell us

If only Seun will upgrade nairaland .. No ,nigga just relax ,allowing his mods to be scattering the forum. If them woo girl she no gree,them fit give am bann to end 2060.If you yab politician wen them like,you fit get bann from now till 4040..
The day Seun managed to change the font,he almost blind people eyes here.. C.E.O work on this site,try do some upgrade. m happy there are no hackers in Nigeria.. Cux e for no reach them put for sale

Seun now

Lamasta:
And you are using Nairaland to tell us

Foretold is forearmed. Or would you rather not know .

And u know SA companies like expanding into Africa. Unlike some NL users who tell me everyday to go back to "Randland". How will this forum ever grow?

That'd be nice! I hope it will be properly maintained and that it stands the test of time and not crash. Anticipating!
I never did 2go though.

Make them go rebrand their 2go for their country people

TMKsouth:


Foretold is forearmed. Or would you rather not know .

And u know SA companies like expanding into Africa. Unlike some NL users who tell me everyday to go back to "Randland". How will this forum ever grow?

don't your country people tell nigerians living in South Africa to go back home, don't they chase nigerians down the streets and club them to death, don't they loot Nigerian shops in South Africa, don't your country people accuse Nigerians and other Africans of taking away the little jobs available
Very ungrateful lots, with what Nigeria had done for your country, una supposed dey pay homage to us, bringing sacrifices to say Thank you for giving us voice and choice when you fought the apartheid system.


Oga go back to randland if possible, mtcheeww

Gadafii:
don't your country people tell nigerians living in South Africa to go back home, don't they chase nigerians down the streets and club them to death, don't they loot Nigerian shops in South Africa, don't your country people accuse Nigerians and other Africans of taking away the little jobs available
Very ungrateful lots, with what Nigeria had done for your country, una supposed dey pay homage to us, bringing sacrifices to say Thank you for giving us voice and choice when you fought the apartheid system.

Oga go back to randland if possible, mtcheeww

Victimhood. Ask yourself first why Nigerians have a terrible reputation in SA. Anyway, not going there today. Show me reports of Nigerian professionals or students "clubbed to death in SA". There are NONE. We actually invite and welcome people with critical skills - that's your reward for "what Nigeria had done for my country".

These others below are definitely not welcome (although I don't condone violence & speak against it), just as they wouldn't be tolerated in any other country around the world.

Same people using MTN and DSTV are telling me to go to Randland

TMKsouth:


Victimhood. Ask yourself first why Nigerians have a terrible reputation in SA. Anyway, not going there today. Show me reports of Nigerian professionals or students "clubbed to death in SA". There are NONE. We actually invite and welcome people with critical skills - that's your reward for "what Nigeria had done for my country".

These others below are definitely not welcome (although I don't condone violence & speak against it), just as they wouldn't be tolerated in any other country around the world.

Same people using MTN and DSTV are telling me to go to Randland

chief, you guys have looting and arsonist Spirit in your DNA, you blame everyone else but ur selves, you guys have terrible reputation amongst your selves, you don't miss the slightest opportunity to loot and people's shops, why

We saw a nigga the other day loading his Benz with looted grocery during the protest, I guess he's a Nigerian too, right.

We know MTN is a fraudster, same for DStv

As for your information, you guys can never have a platform as big and diverse as nairaland, you can go revamp your 2go shiit, but nairaland is the biggest platform.

If Facebook and other social media shut down,and MTN or DStv decided to go, we got other platforms to latch on to. But what are you guys going to do, you will be bored to death without nairaland in ur lives

It'll be difficult for any company to achieve what Nairaland have achieved so far...

MySpace came and went, Nairaland dey
2go came and went same thing,
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram came, Nairaland still dey...

anyway good luck creating your own Randland Abi Una go name am Randland.

This op is from SA, trying to advertise their crab as usual. But anyway thank you.. We prefer our dear nairaland

Nairaland for live

Fine, If they're not gonna destroy everything again in another protest/looting

Instead of starting new apps why not just reintroduce 2go and Mxit with more up to date functions and better interface

Brb