“I wanted to make an impact.”
We are SAVD, an Austrian interpreting company, founded in 2014 in Vienna. We come from a university research program funded by the Ministries of Health and Digital Affairs. I took over the management of the company in 2021, after a career in management. I am convinced that SAVD has an important role to play in the current, increasingly unstable international context.
“The migration crisis was massive. Austria and Germany needed an effective way to make possible for large numbers of migrants who do not speak a word of German to get the interpretation services they needed.”
The problem is a simple one: how can one have a medical appointment at a hospital without speaking German?
The Syrian refugee crisis posed a real communication problem between non-German-speaking populations and Austrian hospitals. To respond to the problem, three things were needed: an interpreter readily available, excellent interpretation services, and a platform providing several languages.
A university program funded by the Ministry of Health was established to meet these needs. The success of this led to the birth of SAVD in 2014.
Instantaneous Interpretation Solutions
SAVD solved the problem of interpreter travel by setting up an online platform. This platform guarantees the immediate availability of interpreters in several languages.
In a hospital, it is important to move quickly. Very quickly. So, you have to think beyond the classic ways of doing interpretation to move towards greater efficiency.
Most of our clients are public entities who pay a subscription to access the service. Migrants benefit from the service free of charge.
Rapid Expansion and Strong Impact
The start was not easy, but we pretty quickly found partners in Austria. After that, we expanded into almost all service areas where there was this need for interpretation, such as women’s shelters or prisons.
The Syrian refugee crisis and the War in Ukraine accelerated the growth of SAVD. Today, we offer interpretation services in over 60 languages, including 17 instantaneously. We have 110 employees (and several hundred freelance interpreters) and perform more than 20,000 interpretations per month for more than 500 clients.
A Double Impact: Social and Environmental
By helping migrants access administrations and basic necessities, we help them to find a sense of normalcy.
Additionally, our digital platform reduces interpreter travel, thereby lowering greenhouse gas emissions. By providing our services to public institutions that are far from urban centers, SAVD also reduces regional inequalities.
Key Support from Impact Partners
Impact Partners has helped us on several aspects of our growth:
- They financed the development of our IT infrastructure in order to improve the service.
- They helped us expand into new markets, particularly in the German part of Switzerland.
- They put us in touch with influential people, who helped accelerate our development.
We appreciate the support of Impact Partners, who encourage us to develop while respecting our societal impact.
A European Ambition
Since our creation, social impact has always been our priority. The more interpreters we have, the more service we provide, and the more we improve migrant integration into society.
However, expanding our model is challenging. Countries have different attitudes towards migration, and we must adapt accordingly. Moreover, we need to build new networks of qualified interpreters, which vary based on migration routes.
We are established in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Our goal is to move into large markets where the need is great. We are therefore targeting France, Spain, and Italy.
