What better endorsement can a South African company ask for? Stellenbosch based mobile instant messaging and social network service MXit is being used by none other than US President Barack Obama to interact with the African youth.

To coinside with the first official visit by President Obama to Africa, MXit users are asked to send a question or comment to Obama within the next twenty-four hours.  Obama will send a message back to the MXit user base after the campaign closes at 4pm today (local time), 8 July, 2009.

“We are very proud to have been asked to be part of a campaign to better understand and engage with African youth,” says Herman Heunis, MXit’s founder and CEO.  “We are simply delighted that such an important and influential president understands and acknowledges the power of social networking.”
We suppose Heunis is even more delighted that Obama chose MXit.

To send a message to President Obama on MXit, go to www.mxit.com/wap from your mobile phone to download Mxit and follow the prompts to leave a comment or question. 
 MXit has over 14 million users in 254 countries and delivers over 35 000 messages per second, making it one of the largest and most popular global mobile social networks. 

It is especially popular in Africa, where it offers users a means to engage with family and friends through chat rooms that offer communication at a fraction of the cost of mobile SMS or voice calls.