Lebara
Lebara is a British 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 and contract based mobile SIM cards.
History
Lebara was founded in 2001 by Ratheesan Yoganathan, Rasiah Ranjith Leon and Baskaran Kandiah. 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 a 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 entered the market in 2007 and 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, turning a €20m profit. Ratheesan Yoganathan, CEO of Lebara, wants to reach one billion customers by 2020.
they were intending to sell their interest in the company, and donate half their wealth to expand the charitable work of the Foundation.
On September 15, 2017 Lebara Group B.V. and its Trademark Companies were acquired by Palmarium, a Swiss private family office via its subsidiary VIEO B.V. for an undisclosed amount.
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.| Country | Partner network | Website |
| Vodafone | https://www.lebara.com.au/ | |
| Telenor | https://mobile.lebara.com/dk/ | |
| Bouygues Telecom | https://mobile.lebara.com/fr/ | |
| Telekom | https://mobile.lebara.com/de/ | |
| KPN | https://mobile.lebara.com/nl/ | |
| Mobily | https://www.lebara.sa/ | |
| Vodafone | https://mobile.lebara.com/es/ | |
| Sunrise | https://lebara.ch/ | |
| Vodafone | https://mobile.lebara.com/gb/ |