World’s first e-sim aggregator Airalo seeks travel sector partners

World’s first e-sim aggregator Airalo seeks travel sector partners

Firm’s app provides marketplace for sims and data packages in 146 countries

Affiliate partnerships with travel firms are being sought by Airalo, which claims to be the world’s first e-sim aggregator.

E-sims first emerged in 2018 with Apple and now all the latest smartphones, like Samsung’s new S20 range which hit the shops this week, are equipped to accept e-sims.

This means users no longer need to have physical sims in their phones and can travel the globe opting to upload local and regional sims offering better value local data and call packages without having to change their phone number.

Users can have multiple sims in their phones and switch between them depending on where they are and what they want to use their devices for.

Towards the end of last year there were 75 million e-sim enabled devices in the world, today there are estimated to be around 160 million and by 2022 there are expected to be aqs many as two billion.

The biggest e-sim markets currently include the US, Canada, Russia, South Korea, Japan, the UK and Germany.

Singapore-based Airalo was co-founded by entrepreneur Bahadir Ozdemir, who previously worked in the shipping industry where he recognised how vital global connectivity to was to workers.

The firm’s app provides users with a global marketplace for sims and data packages in 146 countries and the ability to purchase the sim direct through the app.

Ozdemir said Airalo agrees exclusivity to providers in specific countries because e-sim deals are usually identical between providers so there is no advantage for users to shop around.

He believes Airalo can offer both leisure and corporate travel firms valuable ancillary revenue and is offering a range of tiered partnerships based on volume.

Airalo partners can earn revenue from the initial sale of e-sims and further top-ups as they are used by the consumer.

Ozdemir said: “We think there is plenty of opportunity to partner with travel firms as phones capable of using e-sims become ubiquitous.

“There are global e-sim providers out there like Google Fi but we are the world’s first aggregator.

“As travellers ourselves, we’ve faced the painful situations of not finding Wi-Fi, losing the SIM card you’ve carefully taped to the back of your phone, and the horror of coming home to an unexpected roaming bill.

“We believe that in today’s modern world, connectivity and freedom should be accessible to all. Airalo is here to take away the pain and stress of researching and seeking out the best roaming deal. We’re here to let everyone stay connected globally, while keeping it simple and pain-free.”