Ratheesan yoganathan biography of albert
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He says he was not very studious, but pursued a masters and took a year out to earn the £8,000 needed to pay for lieutenant
Ratheesan Yoganathan worked at an International Correspondence Schools outlet selling call-time cards.
Later he managed the pricing department and worked in sales and marketing departement. These grants support sustainable interventions to enhance quality of life, including partnerships with organizations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for child-focused programs in displacement contexts.[40][38][41]In addition to long-term development, the Lebara Foundation delivers emergency aid for child welfare, such as the Rain Rehabilitation Response program, which provides health camps, nutritional support, and relief supplies to children affected by natural disasters like floods in India.
As of 2024, the foundation continues modest operations in 11 countries, making grants to international branches such as those in India and Sri Lanka. In October 2019, he returned to Kingston University, his alma mater, to deliver a talk to students and alumni on co-founding Lebara at the age of 25, drawing from his experiences as a migrant entrepreneur.[54] He has also spoken at events like The Asian Awards in 2019, where he addressed achievements across business, culture, and sports within the Asian community.[55]On social media, Yoganathan maintains a profile on X (formerly Twitter) as @RY_Lebara, where he has posted content related to business trends, disruptive technologies, and motivational messages for aspiring entrepreneurs.[56] His online activity includes shares on tech innovations, such as a 2015 post on disruptive tech trends.[57]Yoganathan's interests are deeply rooted in his Tamil heritage, stemming from his birth in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, and his family's migration amid the civil war; he has highlighted this background in interviews, underscoring its influence on his values and philanthropy.[2] He enjoys travel, informed by his global relocations from Sri Lanka to India and the UK
Ratheesan Yoganathan
Early life and education
Yoganathan Ratheesan was born in Jaffna, Northern Province, Sri Lanka.
Ratheesan Yoganathan worked at an ICS outlet selling call-time cards.
Education
Twice displaced – he was educated at boarding school in India from the age of eight – he took a while to settle.
Career
On August 10, 2012, he took on the role of Chairman of Lebara Group and returned as Chief Executive Officer in March 2014.
Ratheesan Yoganathan
Ratheesan Yoganathan (born December 1975) is a British entrepreneur of Sri Lankan Tamil origin, best known as the co-founder and former CEO of Lebara Group, a multinational telecommunications company that provides affordable mobile services, international calling, and digital solutions targeted at migrant and ethnic communities across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.[1][2][3] Founded in 2001 alongside Rasiah Ranjith Leon and Baskaran Kandiah, Lebara operates as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in multiple countries, generating over £500 million in annual revenue and serving more than four million active users as of 2025.[4][3] The company was acquired by Waterland Private Equity in 2024.[5]Born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, Yoganathan was displaced by the civil war and attended boarding school in India from age eight before arriving in the United Kingdom at 15.[6][2] He earned a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from Kingston University between 1996 and 1999, funding his studies through part-time jobs.[7][2] Early in his career, he spent four years at ICS, a company led by Subaskaran Allirajah, handling pricing, sales, and marketing roles that honed his expertise in international calling services for diaspora communities.[2]Yoganathan co-founded Lebara in 2001 with a focus on low-cost international calls via prepaid cards sold in ethnic shops, launching its first MVNO in the Netherlands in 2004 and expanding to nine European markets by 2011, where it achieved €21 million in pre-tax profit and aimed for €1 billion in revenue.[2][4] Under his leadership, Lebara grew into a major player, partnering with networks like Vodafone and launching operations in Saudi Arabia in November 2025, while planning a launch in Nigeria in 2026 to tap into emerging migrant markets.[3][8][9] He has committed to donating half his wealth to the Lebara Foundation, which supports education and healthcare initiatives for underprivileged communities worldwide.[2] In recognition of his contributions, Yoganathan received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Kingston University in 2012.[10]
Early life and education
Childhood and family background
Ratheesan Yoganathan was born in December 1975 in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, into a Tamilfamily.[11][6] He grew up in Point Pedro amid the escalating Sri Lankan civil war, which led to his displacement at age 8 to a boarding school in India to escape the violence.[6][2] His family background was working-class, with his parents instilling strong morals and values; his grandfather served as a key influence during his early years.[6] The economic challenges in war-torn Sri Lanka, including instability and limited opportunities, fostered resilience in Yoganathan from a young age.[2]At age 15, Yoganathan immigrated to the United Kingdom as a refugee fleeing the civil war, arriving in London with his father and limited resources.[12][2] His father took up work in a clothing factory, reflecting their modest circumstances, while an uncle provided support, including help with learning English.[2] The initial settlement proved extremely difficult, as Yoganathan later recalled waiting anxiously each day for his father and struggling to adapt to life in England.[2]To support his family and fund his own pursuits, Yoganathan took on part-time jobs in East London, including night shifts in a bar and daytime sales of international calling cards.[2][12] These experiences highlighted the hardships of immigrant life and exposed him to the communication needs of migrant communities, shaping his future entrepreneurial path.He owns about one third of the company"s stock. He survived secondary school.
His father, who worked at a clothing factory in London, wanted him to take a degree, and he chose aeronautical engineering "because it had more numbers in it than any other subject".
To fund it, he plans to donate half his wealth to the foundation.
As a strong believer in supporting young entrepreneurial talent, Yoganathan officially launched "The Entrepreneurial Way" at Cass Business School, London, in December, 2012. This dedication underscores Yoganathan's focus on philanthropy as a core extension of his entrepreneurial success.[2][27][38]
Awards and honors
Academic distinctions
In December 2012, Ratheesan Yoganathan was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) by Kingston University, recognizing his significant business impact and success as a distinguished alumnus.[10] This honor highlighted his journey from an aeronautical engineering graduate of the institution to a prominent entrepreneur, underscoring how his technical education laid the foundation for innovative contributions in telecommunications and beyond.[43]During the Kingston Business School graduation ceremony, Yoganathan delivered an inspiring address to students and faculty, sharing insights on achieving success as an immigrant entrepreneur in the UK.[10] He emphasized resilience, opportunity-seeking, and the value of education in overcoming challenges, drawing from his own experiences to motivate the next generation of business leaders.Following the 2017 sale of the Lebara Group, funding has reduced significantly, with total income of £54,230 for the year ending 31 March 2024, now supporting operations through other sources such as grants.[38] Complementing this corporate commitment, Yoganathan and his co-founders have pledged to donate half of their personal wealth to the foundation over time, underscoring a long-term dedication to philanthropy.[2]Governance is overseen by a board that includes Yoganathan as chairman, along with the other founders as directors, prioritizing strategic focus on education, health, and community support to foster resilience among vulnerable children.[37]
Key projects and commitments
One of the cornerstone initiatives of the Lebara Foundation is the Lebara Village project in Chennai, India, launched in the mid-2000s to address the needs of underprivileged and displaced children.The Entrepreneurial Way offers students and recent graduates since 2005, the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges - including Ratheesan Yoganathan - for investment, funding and additional support, such as mentoring. He is an Aeronautical engineer by education, after graduating from Kingston University, United Kingdom.
Background
Yoganathan Ratheesan was born in Jaffna, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. By 2011, operations spanned nine countries, including France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, with a network of wholesale agreements that supported seamless roaming and calling to over 50 destinations.[2][14]The company's growth accelerated through reinvestment of profits and a commitment to operational efficiency, achieving key milestones that underscored its scale.
This recognition affirmed his role as a role model bridging academic roots with real-world entrepreneurial excellence.[44]
Entrepreneurial recognitions
In 2010, Yoganathan was awarded the Asian Business Young Entrepreneur of the Year by Eastern Eye, recognizing his leadership in building Lebara Mobile into a prominent provider of affordable international calling services for migrant communities.[45][46] This accolade highlighted his innovative approach to targeting underserved markets, contributing to Lebara's rapid expansion across Europe.[47]Yoganathan served as the headline sponsor for the Asian Awards in 2011 through Lebara, an event celebrating excellence in ethnic business and community contributions, underscoring his commitment to promoting Asian entrepreneurial achievements.[48][49] His involvement helped spotlight diverse leaders, aligning with Lebara's growth into a multinational telecom operator serving millions.[50]In 2012, he received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for London and the South, acknowledging his role in scaling Lebara from a startup to a company with significant market presence in the ethnic telecom sector.[14] This recognition was tied to Lebara's innovative business model and sustained revenue growth, demonstrating Yoganathan's strategic vision in competitive industries.[44]In 2014, Yoganathan was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, recognizing his contributions to global business and innovation as a leader under 40.[51]Other pursuits
The Entrepreneurial Way initiative
The Entrepreneurial Way (TEW) is a mentorship and funding program established by Ratheesan Yoganathan to support aspiring entrepreneurs, drawing inspiration from his own journey as an immigrant who built a successful business from humble beginnings.[52] The initiative aims to provide practical guidance, resources, and financial backing to help young individuals navigate the challenges of starting a business, emphasizing resilience and innovation.[44]Yoganathan began informally mentoring and providing resources to university students and recent graduates as early as 2005, before formally launching TEW in November 2012 at Cass Business School in London.[52] The program specifically targets students and graduates from ethnic minority communities, such as Sri Lankan Tamils, through workshops, pitching events, and grant opportunities to foster business ideas.[44] It includes seed funding commitments totaling £5 million by 2020, along with personalized mentoring on budgeting, forecasting, and development.[52] Key partnerships, including with entrepreneur Surinder Arora, who delivered inspirational talks at the launch, have helped expand its network and visibility.[53]The overarching goal of TEW is to empower participants to generate significant economic impact, with ambitions to create £100 million in revenue by 2020 and enable the Tamil community to contribute 1% to the UK GDP within 25 years.[52]Public engagement and interests
Ratheesan Yoganathan actively engages with the public through speaking engagements and guest lectures, often sharing insights into his entrepreneurial journey and the founding of the Lebara Group.His next big ambition is to expand Lebara Foundation, which is already building a community with homes, a school and a clinic for local and displaced children in Chennai, southern India. His immigration background shaped these educational opportunities, fostering resilience amid economic constraints.[2][12]During his university years, Yoganathan's practical engagements demonstrated emerging entrepreneurial potential, as he identified inefficiencies in the calling card market through his part-time roles, laying groundwork for future ventures.[12]
Professional career
Early employment
Ratheesan Yoganathan began his professional career in the telecommunications sector in the late 1990s while completing his undergraduate studies, taking an entry-level position at an outlet of International Calling Services (ICS), where he sold call-time cards targeted at international callers, particularly migrants seeking affordable connections to their home countries.[2][13] This role, which he held while working nights in a bar to fund his master's studies, provided hands-on exposure to the practical challenges of prepaid telecom services for ethnic communities in the UK.[2][13] His engineering education from Kingston University equipped him with analytical skills that proved useful in quickly identifying operational inefficiencies.[2]During his time at ICS, Yoganathan's attentiveness led to a significant career advancement when he noticed a pricing error in the call cards that was causing financial losses; after alerting his superiors, he was promptly recruited to the head office, remaining for four years from approximately 1999 to 2001.[2][13] In this elevated capacity, he headed the pricing department, overseeing the calculation and adjustment of rates for international calls to ensure competitiveness and profitability.[2][13] He also took on responsibilities in sales and marketing, progressing from individual contributor to supervisory roles where he managed teams focused on promoting services to migrant populations.[2][13]Through these experiences at ICS, Yoganathan gained critical insights into the unmet needs of ethnic and migrant communities for cost-effective international calling, including the importance of tailored pricing models and accessible distribution channels for prepaid products.[2][13] This foundational knowledge in migrant-focused telecom services honed his understanding of market gaps in the sector, emphasizing the role of affordability and reliability in serving underserved demographics.[2][13]Founding and growth of Lebara
In 2001, at the age of 25, Ratheesan Yoganathan co-founded the Lebara Group alongside Rasiah Ranjith Leon and Baskaran Kandiah, initially establishing the company as a distributor of prepaid international calling cards targeted at migrant workers in Europe.[2][12] The name "Lebara" was derived from the first two letters of each founder's surname, reflecting their shared vision to address the high costs of international calls for ethnic communities separated from their families.[2] Drawing on Yoganathan's earlier experience in the telecom industry, the venture began by leveraging personal and community networks within migrant populations, particularly South Asian and Turkish diaspora groups, to distribute affordable calling cards that offered rates significantly lower than traditional carriers.[14] This grassroots approach allowed Lebara to quickly gain traction without relying on external funding, with Yoganathan serving as CEO to oversee operations and strategic direction.[2]Lebara's model evolved rapidly from calling cards to a full mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) by the mid-2000s, launching its first virtual network in 2004 in the Netherlands through a partnership with carrier Telfort (later acquired by KPN).[2] By 2007, the company had expanded into the UK market as an MVNO, partnering with Vodafone to offer pay-as-you-go SIM cards with low-cost international calling bundles, which resonated strongly with the growing migrant workforce.[12] This shift enabled Lebara to bypass infrastructure ownership costs while focusing on tailored services, such as multilingual customer support and community-specific marketing, leading to organic expansion across Europe.The scheme offers potential entrepreneurs practical advice on how to develop their business ideas and make them work in the real world.
Ratheesan Yoganathan
entrepreneur
Ratheesan Yoganathan is a British entrepreneur who, with Rasiah Ranjith Leon and Baskaran Kandiah, is best known as the co-founder of Lebara Group.