Being South Africa’s former opening batsman and coaching India’s cricket team to a world cup victory has made Gary Kirsten an Indian celebrity.

But mobile messaging application Mxit is going to need a lot more than just Kirsten in its Indian marketing campaign mix if it ever wants to win over South Asian users of its application.

It’s a no-brainer as to why Mxit is targeting India.

India’s mobile market size stands at around 900 million connections according to the GSMA.

Instant messaging service WhatsApp has also only managed to secure over 20 million users in India: a fraction of the country’s number of mobile phone users.

Considering that Mxit has grown quickly among South Africans in lower-to-middle living standard measurements (LSMs), it’s also natural to see why Mxit thinks India -- rated a lower-middle income nation by the World Bank despite its key position within BRICS-- is its next frontier.

However, while millions in Africa are coming to terms with how technology can make their lives better, India is already a technology superpower, and Mxit will have to be on top of its game.

India’s information technology sector is worth over $100 billion, according to Reuters.

Top global technology firms such as Infosys sit in the country’s tech capital of Bangalore.

Risks of competition to Mxit; therefore, don’t just exist from the likes of global players such as WhatsApp but also local Indian startups.

Having tried out the upgraded Mxit 7 application, I don’t think the app is offering anything innovative or different to draw users away from the likes of WhatsApp.

Nevertheless, strong points of Mxit include its digital currency potential and its ability to help brands reach Indians in different ways.

In South Africa, the ANC says it has over 400,000 users of its Mxit app. Other commercial brands like sports broadcaster Supersport and Samsung also have hundreds of thousands of followers on their respective Mxit apps.

Mxit, then, will likely focus on these strengths in India.

But whatever strategy the South African instant messaging service focuses on in India, the reality is that this could be a vital move for Mxit and not just a glitzy public relations campaign affiliated with a cricketing legend.

Mxit will probably never grow significantly in South Africa ever again and competition is heating up in markets such as Nigeria where Cape Town based instant messaging service 2go is making strong inroads in the West African nation.

Nigeria with its 170 million strong population will be Mxit’s next focus, but India is its ‘make-or-break’ market.

Technology observers and commentators in South Africa will be interested to see how Mxit performs in India, because if it struggles, this could signal the end of what has been a long and great innings.

Gareth van Zyl is the editor of ITWeb Africa.