Industry Telecommunications Founded September 2001 | Customer service 00 44 20 3036 3000 Parent organization Lebara B.V. | |
Headquarters 25 Copthall Avenue, London, UK Area served Europe, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Australia Key people Ratheesan Yoganathan (Chairman & CEO) Products Mobile telecommunications services Revenue EUR€ 565 million (2010) Address 10 Whitechapel High St, London E1 8DX, UK CEO Ratheesan Yoganathan (2014–) Hours Open today · 9AM–8PMTuesday9AM–8PMWednesday9AM–8PMThursday9AM–8PMFriday9AM–8PMSaturday9AM–6PMSunday9AM–6PMMonday9AM–8PM Founders Ratheesan Yoganathan, Rasiah Ranjith Leon, Baskaran Kandiah, Baskaran Kandiah (Karan) Similar Vectone Mobile, eurocallin, Dial Abroad, Gt Mobile Profiles | ||
Lebara careers what it s like to work at lebara
Lebara is a telecommunications company providing services in many countries around the world, using the mobile virtual network operator business model. Lebara Mobile provides pay-as-you-go mobile SIM cards, targeted toward the needs of international communities and migrant workers.
Contents
How to top up a lebara sim card
History
Lebara was founded in 2001 by Ratheesan Yoganathan, Rasiah Ranjith Leon and Baskaran Kandiah. The founders worked on the idea at an airport cafe after seeing the imposing Telenor building on the way to the airport in Bergen, Norway. The name Lebara was coined from the first two letters of each of the founders' names.
The company's initial product was international telephone calling cards, sold through independent mobile phone shops.
In 2004, Lebara Mobile launched the first-ever low-cost international service in the Netherlands, selling SIM cards using mobile carrier Telfort, a subsidiary of KPN.
The founders established the Lebara Foundation, a registered charity under English law, in 2005.
In 2009 it began using Vodafone's infrastructure in Australia and the UK. By then it had also expanded into Denmark, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. France was added in 2010.
In the UK, Lebara targeted the 16-24 international student community, including through Freshers fairs and targeted emails.
In May 2010 it acquired the ‘Chippie’ brand and customer base in the Netherlands. Lebara said it would retain the Chippie name in the Netherlands, which is designed to address migrant communities from North and South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia. Like Lebara Mobile's Dutch MVNO, Chippie calls are carried on KPN's network. Lebara generated annual sales in excess of €565 million in 2010, and had more than three million active customers.
In March 2011, it expanded its services by launching Lebara Money in the UK for customers wishing to send money abroad. In November of that year it signed a global deal to distribute Nokia handsets, with Lebara branding including a ringtone by Indian composer A. R. Rahman.
In 2011, Lebara’s revenue hit €648m (£504m), turning a €20m (£16m) profit. Ratheesan Yoganathan, CEO of Lebara, wants to reach one billion customers by 2020.
As of 2011 they were intending to sell their interest in the company, and donate half their wealth to expand the charitable work of the Foundation.
Operations
The company currently operates in Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK, and employs around 1,400 staff in total. Lebara sold its Australian operation to Vodafone Australia in September 2016.