Willem Roos, one of the founders of insurance company OUTsurance, is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of mobile network Rain. Roos, who graduated with a BScHons Actuarial Science in 1994 believes alumni have a responsibility to give back to people, as well as the institutions that helped them to succeed. 

He says getting a good qualification from the University of Pretoria (UP) helped him enormously to get started in life. “I got a good job straight out of University, which then exposed me to the business world and lots of great people. That is where I was fortunate to quickly establish good relationships with the colleagues whom I founded OUTsurance with.”

Roos admits that starting OUTsurance came from the need to have a successful career and ability to look after his family. However, he soon realised that he got lots of satisfaction from being part of a successful business that solves problems for clients, provides work for employees, and is a positive influence in society.

The Polokwane-born businessman says all large businesses face many challenges, and the toughest challenges land on the lap of the CEO. “I think by far the biggest challenge in business is competition. South Africa has many world-class companies. However, we also face some serious macro challenges. We really need our government to manage the many structural challenges a lot better. A good example is the poor management of the country’s energy needs which leads to load-shedding. This, for example, causes havoc in the telecommunications industry, increasing costs which leads to higher prices for consumers.

COVID-19, says Roos, affected most businesses, big and small. However, OUTsurance had a strong balance sheet and coped well during the challenging period. “It also immediately settled COVID-19 related business-interruption claims which helped many businesses in the hospitality sector cope with the massive disruption.”

“I believe the pandemic accelerated many macro trends, such as increased work and study from home, as well as online shopping and services. Rain was fortunate to have benefitted from these trends as our affordable, unlimited data offerings really resonated with consumers during this period.”

He says Rain's longer-term goal is to help democratise the internet in South Africa by enabling more people to have unlimited access to a broadband connection. This will play a role in stimulating economic growth and lead to job creation. Getting more South Africans to work is the most important problem that needs solving in the years to come.

Fortunately, Roos says at OUTsurance and Rain they continue to see fantastic and talented people coming out of our universities, although it is becoming tougher to get great talent as most graduates immigrate after completing their studies immigration has taken its toll. “I actually think most people fresh out of university have good technical skills in their field. Having a wider perspective of how to use those skills to improve a business or make a difference in society is what’s lacking.”

He advises budding businessmen and businesswomen to read widely and know more about other fields, not only their area of study. “This will make it easier for you to be innovative, identify problems that need solving and spot opportunities to start a new business,” he says.