Cellular25.08.2022

Mxit founder Herman Heunis passes away

Herman Heunis

Mxit founder Herman Heunis passed away on Wednesday morning after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 63.

The Namibian-born Heunis began his career in technology as a programmer in 1980 after studying for a BCom degree at Stellenbosch University.

He became a software specialist at the institution in 1985 and launched his own information and communications technology consultancy in 1990.

In 1997, he launched Swist Group Technologies, a consultancy specialising in software development.

Clockspeed Mobile, a research and division of Swist, developed and launched Mxit based on Heunis’ concept — borne out of reassessing a failed SMS-based massively multiplayer game the company had created.

Clockspeed soon became an independent entity and was renamed MXit Lifestyle (Pty) Ltd.

Mxit was considered Africa’s largest social network, attracting the interest of large investors. Naspers acquired a 30% stake in the company in 2007.

The platform grew exponentially in the 2000s. By 2012, it had over 10 million active users and recorded between 35,000 and 50,000 daily registrations.

However, at Mxit’s height, Heunis decided to step back from his wildly successful company, selling it to World of Avatar.

Founded by Alan Knott-Craig Jr., World of Avatar was backed by former FirstRand executives Paul Harris and GT Ferreira.

Speaking to Africa-ME, Heunis said that selling a company you started is traumatic.

“Fact of the matter was, I was extremely tired and burned out, and staying on as CEO was not in the interest of the company,” he said.

In 2015, Heunis posted on Twitter that he regretted not being able to stay on as Mxit CEO.

“[It] had all ingredients to become [a] major success story. The missing catalyst was new energy,” he said.

Heunis never returned to the world of technology.

After retiring as an Internet entrepreneur and leaving the public eye, he focused on his hobbies, which his Twitter bio says were photography, travelling, mountain biking, wine, and olive oil making.

Heunis was an avid cyclist, competing in endurance races such as the Absa Cape Epic.

His invention forever changed communications in South Africa, bringing mobile instant messaging into the mainstream before the global smartphone revolution and lowering the price people were willing to pay for short text messages.

He will be missed.


Now read: The rise and fall of Mxit

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