Claudia Mirza; A Story Beyond Borders

Originating from a domestic translation company, Claudia Mirza worked to establish Akorbi; a visionary global provider of multilingual business services. Watching her father cross the border at the age of four, Mirza, raised in one of the many housing projects of Colombia during its worst, dreamt of being a naturalized American citizen. Mirza who was raised in one of the many housing projects of Colombia dreamt of being a naturalized American citizen.

Like the millions of children who are caught between the devastating collisions of physical limits, Mirza too, was shattered. Living in absolute poverty back in the Colombian City of Medellin, Mirza and her mother travelled from house to house in search for shelter. “Whenever you are immigrating because of poverty or violence, you feel like you are not welcomed in that country and you feel defeated. I felt defeated.”

Leaving behind her culture, language, family and everything else, Mirza immigrated to the United States. Unlike thousands across the nation, Mirza was employed. What really separated her from various other immigrants was the fact that it did not end there for her. A part of her always belonged to Central America and hence, dreamt to empower the ones who are where she was once.

With the intention of promoting self-sufficiency, Claudia Mirza established Akorbi. In the year of 2018, Claudia Mirza received the Women’s Business Enterprises National Award in accordance to its recognition as the 13thfastest-growing woman led company worldwide. The company, in 2016, was said to employ 670 people in the United States and 200 overseas. In accordance to her beliefs in relation to empowering women as workers, Mirza emphasizes the loss of talent business face due to restrictions in the recruitment of international employees.

“I want to move this economy forward. Eleven million people! They are qualified. They can become active and productive members of society. That’s my struggle. The negligence.” Amongst her greatest achievements as an award winning entrepreneur, Mirza takes every opportunity at hand to promote the idea of recruiting immigrants supporting working mothers and empowering women to become leaders with the sole vision to make the most of the human talent the country has at hand.