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About AKORBI

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Akorbi is a group of companies, based in Dallas-Fort Worth, specializing in providing enterprise solutions that empower companies to achieve success in the global economy. We help organizations connect with employees, vendors, and customers in over 170 languages 24×7, through any modality, from any location. Our customizable enterprise solutions include interpretation, multilingual and technical staffing, multilingual contact centers with business process outsourcing capabilities, learning, and localization services.

The company holds several, highly-audited certifications including ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016, and M/WBE Certification. Akorbi values clients’ privacy and security, and maintains compliance with strict regulations including HIPAA, PHI, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), just to name a few.

Akorbi is the 13th fastest-growing woman-owned/led company in the world, according to the Women Presidents’ Organization, the #2,568 fastest-growing company on the Inc. 5000 with 166% growth in the last three years, and was recently named the 12th largest language service provider (LSP) in the US by global market research and international consulting company, Nimdzi Insights LLC.

Akorbi and its founders have been featured in The American Dream on the Bloomberg channel, as well as several notable publications, including Forbes, Inc. Magazine, TIME, Fortune and Google+.

Mission icon

MISSION

Building compassionate global connections.

Vision icon

VISION

To be the sustainable partner for companies seeking to increase their global or diverse market position through innovation, language, and people.

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VALUES

We are compassionate.
We embrace excellence in all we do.
We operate with integrity.
We foster a fun, positive work environment.
We are innovative.

Certifications
and Awards

Our Story

About the Founders

Claudia’s father immigrated to the United States when she was four. He left her mother and her in absolute poverty, living in the projects of Medellin, Colombia. The two of them were able to survive thanks to the kindness of people who fed them, gave them furniture, educated them and provided a way to make a living for her minimum wage-earning mother. While living through the most violent times when the Medellin and Cali Cartels, their saviors were an entrepreneur from Medellin, his employees, the school nuns and family members.

Pictures of Claudia growing up

At the age of 21, after Claudia graduated from college and 18 years of being apart, she reunited with her father in the United States.

Claudia and Azam met in the United States while both were working for corporate America. Claudia worked for a big telecommunications company while attending school to obtain her second business administration degree. Azam Mirza, was a bright engineer from India, with a master’s degree from the University of New Orleans in electrical engineering and specialization in artificial intelligence.  He spent time in the defense industry and was recruited by Cap Gemini Ernst and Young as a database consultant supporting Fortune 500 accounts.

About icon

But Where Did the Idea of Akorbi Come From?

Akorbi began when Claudia Mirza lost her job during the dotcom crash in 2002. Claudia and Azam Mirza, a newly married couple and driven young professionals, had to deal with the uncertainty of a life change for Claudia in the middle of a challenging job market.

Claudia went to help her father train horses at a race track in San Antonio, TX. During a racing seminar at the track, the interpreter that was supposed to provide the Spanish language support had to cancel at the last minute but told the organizers that “Hector’s daughter (Claudia) was very smart and she could take care of the interpretation”. The organizers immediately reached out to Claudia and the rest is history. Claudia immediately rolled up her sleeves and got to work. She not only facilitated the interpretation from English into Spanish, but also helped editing and translating all the training materials. Through other connections and referrals, Akorbi began to take off.

2003

Not long after the translation company’s incorporation in year 2003, Southwest Airlines, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, and 3M joined Akorbi’s quickly expanding client base.

SCORE (Service Corps Of Retired Executives) caught wind of Akorbi’s success story as one of the mentees of this free service provided by the Small Business Administration. They opted to celebrate the accomplishment by featuring Claudia Mirza, CEO of Akorbi, after she put to good use the marketing mentorship that one of the executive mentors had given during her first home-made marketing campaign.

2004

Azam Mirza joined Akorbi full time and other important team members were added to the organization. New technology and localization services were also added to the company’s portfolio. Additionally, Akorbi became 8a-certified at the federal level and the translation company became certified as a woman owned business.

Thanks to the generosity of several media outlets, Akorbi was highlighted in a number of publications. Akorbi was featured in Hispanic Trends, for its high-quality and culturally-sensitive translations. Univision featured CEO Claudia Mirza as a Hispanic role model. The US News & World Report reported on Akorbi’s innovative focus and its growth.

2005

Akorbi’s rapid growth continued while obtaining contracts from the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Fortune 100 companies, the nation’s leading Hispanic advertising firm, as well as, new clients in the government, IT, retail and healthcare industriesAkorbi moved to a larger location in Irving, Texas, in the heart of Dallas-Fort WorthThe North Central Texas Regional Certification Agency (NCTRCA) honored Akorbi as the Woman-Owned Business of the Year.

2006

The Dallas Business Journal recognized Akorbi’s CEO, Claudia Mirza, as a “40 Under 40” for her contributions to national and international business and “leading the charge into uncharted territory”.  The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) added Akorbi to its schedules for General Purpose Commercial Information Technology Equipment, Software and Services, and Temporary Administrative and Professional Support Services (TAPS)Akorbi secures contract with U.S. Fish and Wildlife servicesForbes magazine and The Dallas Morning News featured Akorbi’s services and success. Akorbi opened a new office in India to expand its technology services.

Our Story 2006

2007

The U.S. General Services Administration added Akorbi to its schedules for Language Services.  Claudia Mirza won The Fort Worth Mayor’s Entrepreneur Award, which recognized the “true entrepreneurial and community spirit of an outstanding small-business owner”. Claudia also won Accion Texas’ Micro Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

2008 - 2009

Akorbi acquired large health insurance clients, state and federal government contracts. Also, secured contracts to provide American Sign Language Interpreters for U.S. government defense facilities. The ISO 9001:2000 certification was secured. The company had 80% growth after creating a strategic team of localization professionals who successfully penetrated new vertical markets. Akorbi developed a proprietary translation management system for workflow, vendor and customer management. Akorbi was highlighted in Inc. magazine. This article became a turning point in the direction and strategy of the company as it moved well beyond its reach in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

2010

Akorbi CEO, Claudia Mirza, joined the board of The Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and leads the technology committee and Viva Dallas Expo. Claudia and Azam Mirza also addressed the Federal Reserve Bank on how microlending helps small businesses in America.

2011

Akorbi launched the new staffing division– Akorbi Workforce Solutions. Akorbi moved into another new, larger office as the business grew into the premier interpretation and translation company in Dallas-Fort Worth.

2012

Akorbi hired Presidents for each of its business units. Company grew to 40 full-time employees and more than 100 contractors. Claudia Mirza received The Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber’s “Minority Woman Entrepreneur” award.

2013

Akorbi launched telephonic interpretation and in-person interpretation services.

Claudia Mirza received Dallas Business Journal’s Women in Business award. Akorbi received the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber’s Minority/Woman Business Enterprise award and the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber’s La Cima Entrepreneurial Leader award.

2014

Akorbi launched multilingual call centers and BPO services. Akorbi’s Cape Verde and Santo Domingo locations were opened.  Claudia Mirza received Latina Style’s 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year award. Cape Verde and Santo Domingo locations were opened.

2015

A brand-new office in Colombia was opened and the Akorbi Learning division was launched. Fortune  and Forbes highlighted Claudia and Akorbi as the 12th fastest-growing woman-owned business.  Claudia Mirza received the Dallas Business Journal’s Minority Business Leader award and the Entrepreneurial Women of the Year award. Akorbi was recognized by the Women Presidents’ Organization as the 30th fastest-growing women-owned/led company in the world. Azam and Claudia Mirza received the Immigrant Entrepreneur award. Additionally, Akorbi received a Dallas 100 award. Claudia is selected to join EY’s Entrepreneurial Winning Women program.

2016

Claudia Mirza received the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Business Woman of the Year award while the Women Presidents’ Organization recognized Akorbi as the 12th fastest-growing women-owned/led company in the world. Claudia joined the Women Presidents’ Organization’s board. Akorbi ranked #33 on the Dallas 100.

2017

Claudia Mirza attended a meeting at the White House to discuss the needs of small businesses and women owned enterprises. Claudia joined the prestigious Harvard School of Business OPM Program. Claudia received the Women’s Business Council-Southwest’s Women Business Entrepreneur of the Year award. Women Presidents’ Organization recognized Akorbi as the 8th fastest-growing woman-owned/led company in the world. Akorbi ranked #963 on the Inc. 5000. Akorbi also obtained patent-pending in two key technology developments.

2018

Claudia Mirza received the Women’s Business Enterprises National Council’s Women’s Business Enterprise award. Women Presidents’ Organization recognized Akorbi as the 13th fastest-growing woman-owned/led company in the world. Time Magazine highlighted Claudia Mirza about equal pay topics and Bloomberg TV created a segment on The American Dream TV Show about Akorbi’s story for national television. 

SRI Certified Logo

ISO 13485:2016

Certification: ISO 13485:2016
Certification body: SRI
About ISO 13485: ISO 13485:2016 specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organization needs to demonstrate its ability to provide medical devices and related services that consistently meet customer and applicable regulatory requirements.

ISO 9001:2015

Certification: ISO 9001:2015
Certification body: SRI
About ISO 9001: ISO 9001:2015 specifies requirements for a quality management system.

ISO 27001

Certification: ISO 27001:2013
Certification body: SRI Quality System Registrar
About ISO 27001: ISO 27001 is the international standard for information security management system for continuing conformance to information security requirements. To know more about this standard, click Learn More below.
 
Dallas 100 Award - SMU Cox Caruth Institute Logo

Dallas 100

For 30 years, the Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship at the SMU Cox School of Business and the Dallas 100TM sponsors have celebrated the innovative spirit, determination and business savvy of area entrepreneurs. We have saluted the diversity, creativity and resolve it takes to create and sustain a successful business in today’s competitive environment.

NMSDC Certified Logo

Minority Business Enterprise

Certification: MWBE Minority Business Enterprise
Certification body: State of Tennessee
Objective: Certified to perform business at the state of Tennessee level as a Minority Business Enterprise.
Translators Without Borders, Bronze Sponsor 2021

Proud Sponsors of Translators Without Borders

Translators without Borders is a nonprofit working toward a world without language barriers.

CSA Research's Top 30 Language Service Providers in North America, 2020

CSA Research

Common Sense Advisory (CSA) Top 30 NA Language Service Providers Rankings:

  • 2020
    • Global: 29
    • North America: 11
Top 35 Language Service Providers

Nimdzi Insights

Nimdzi is a market research and international consulting company that works towards
providing clients with the insights needed to succeed on a global scale.

  • 2018
    • Global: 24
    • North America: 12
  • 2019
    • Global: 36
    • North America: 11
  • 2020
    • Global: 35
    • North America: 12
Women-Owned Logo

Women Owned

Certification: Women-Owned Enterprise
Certification body: North Central Texas Regional Certification Agency
Objective: Certified to perform business at the local government level as a MWBE.
Slator's 2020 Leader on the Language Service Provider Index

Slator LSP Index

The Slator 2020 Language Service Provider Index is a ranking and index of the world’s largest language service providers, translation agencies, localization providers, interpreting services providers, and language technology companies.

  • 2018
    • Global: 28
    • North America: 13
  • 2019
    • Global: 27
    • North America: 9
  • 2020
    • Global: 26
    • North America: 10
SIA Corporate Member Logo

Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) Corporate Member

Certification: Corporate Member
Certification body: Staffing Industry Analysts
Objective: To be part of a group of industry leaders and experts in the staffing and workforce solutions space.
50 Fastest Women Owned and Led Logo

50 Fastest Women-Owned / Led

Certification: Women-Owned Enterprise
Certification body: Women’s Business Enterprise National Council – Southwest
Objective: Certified to conduct business as a woman-owned business.
HUB logo 2022

Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Program

Certification: HUB Certified Business
Certification body: Statewide Historically Underutilized Business Program
Objective: The Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Program was created to promote full and equal procurement opportunities for small, minority- and women-owned businesses.

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Akorbi will be at WBENC (Booth 272) in Nashville from March 21st to 23rd Schedule Time to Meet with Us Now >>