What ISM Interprétariat does

ISM Interprétariat (legal name: Inter Service Migrants – Interprétariat) is a French non-profit association (Loi 1901) founded in 1970 and headquartered at 90 avenue de Flandre, 75019 Paris. The organization delivers professional interpretation, written translation, and public-writer services to remove language barriers for non-French-speaking migrants and exiled persons across France. Its service portfolio comprises five core lines: telephone interpretation available 24/7 nationwide in nearly 200 languages, in-person interpretation in the Île-de-France region, appointment-based video interpretation, written translation between French and 80+ languages, and a public-writer service assisting individuals with administrative paperwork. Complementary assets include the Observatoire (a research and conference platform on exile and interpretation), the password-protected Plateformes portal for jurists and public writers, and the Centre de ressources participatif for internal staff and interpreter collaboration.

The business is fundamentally labor-intensive and human-delivered, relying on a curated network of professional interpreters with structured recruitment, linguistic evaluation, and continuous training. Revenue flows from contracted institutional partnerships — primarily with French public services (Ministère de l'Intérieur, CNDA, OFPRA, OFII), large hospital systems (APHP, CHU Nantes, ARS regional health agencies), and humanitarian NGOs (Croix-Rouge française, Médecins Du Monde, Samusocial de Paris) — rather than direct consumer fees. In 2025 the organization reported 478,000 interpretations (over 1,900 per working day), with healthcare at 35% (167,000+) and asylum at 30% (141,500) of activity, alongside 26,500+ pages translated and 2,400+ public-writer sessions.

The organization operates as a mission-driven social-purpose association with a Conseil d'administration governance structure led by President Hamou Bouakkaz and Director Aziz Tabouri. Its go-to-market is non-commercial: growth is driven by institutional tenders, partnership extensions into adjacent verticals (e.g., ARS PACA-funded liberal-physician pilot launched October 2025, GHU Paris psychiatry specialization), geographic expansion to DROM, and policy advocacy through the Observatory and public positioning with French elected officials.

Name

ISM Interprétariat

Legal name

Inter Service Migrants – Interprétariat (ISM Interprétariat)

Website

https://ism-interpretariat.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Founded in 1970 as a French non-profit association (Loi 1901), ISM Interprétariat delivers professional interpretation, written translation, and public-writer services in nearly 200 languages to public institutions, hospitals, NGOs, and asylum actors serving non-French-speaking migrants and exiled persons across France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Language Interpretation and Translation Services

NAICS

Translation and Interpretation Services (541930)

akta.pro primary industry

Interpretation, Translation & Language Access Training (Community Interpreting) (EDAAADAJ)

Keywords

• Professional interpretation services
• Language access services
• Telephone interpretation
• Written translation services
• Public writer services

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Interpretation Services: ISM Interprétariat operates as a non-profit social association (Loi 1901) providing professional interpretation, translation, and public writer services. As a mission-driven organization since 1970, the association facilitates access to rights for non-French-speaking migrants through services to public institutions, associations, and healthcare/social structures. Revenue appears to come from service contracts with public and institutional partners rather than direct customer fees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ISM Interprétariat is a French non-profit association founded in 1970 that provides professional interpretation (by telephone 24/7, in-person, and video conference) across nearly 200 languages, along with written translation between French and 80+ languages and public writer services. The organization helps non-French-speaking migrants and exiled persons access healthcare, justice, social services, asylum procedures, and administrative processes by deploying trained interpreters to institutional partners nationwide in France.

Product overview

ISM Interprétariat is a non-profit social association (Loi 1901) founded in 1970, offering a suite of professional interpretation, translation, and public writer services designed to remove language barriers for non-French-speaking migrants and exiled persons. The core portfolio consists of five service lines: Interprétariat par téléphone (24/7 phone interpretation in 200 languages), Interprétariat en présentiel (in-person interpretation across Île-de-France), Interprétariat par visioconférence (appointment-based video interpretation), Traduction (written translation in 80+ languages), and Ecrivain public (public writer assistance for written/digital administrative tasks). These services are complemented by the Observatoire (a research and conference platform), the Plateformes ISM (internal team collaboration portal for jurists and public writers), and the Centre de ressources participatif (internal participatory resource center). The organization covers nearly 200 languages and operates nationwide in France, serving public services, medical and social structures, and associative actors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Plateformes ISM Interprétariat: Online platform for jurists Info Migrants and public writers, accessible at plateformes.ism-interpretariat.fr
• ISM News
• Observatoire ISM Interprétariat

Products and services

• Interprétariat par téléphone (Phone Interpretation) Real-time telephone interpretation service available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, covering 200 languages, enabling direct communication between non-French-speaking individuals and French-speaking professionals at public services, hospitals, and social organizations.
• Interprétariat en présentiel (In-Person Interpretation) Face-to-face interpretation service where professional interpreters travel throughout the Île-de-France region when in-person communication is required, primarily for medical, legal, and administrative settings.
• Interprétariat par visioconférence (Video Conference Interpretation) Interpretation service accessible by appointment, connecting interpreters with clients via video to combine audio and visual communication for situations requiring visual context.
• Traduction écrite (Written Translation) Written translation services from French to more than 80 languages and vice versa, delivered for both institutional clients and individuals needing translated documents.
• Ecrivain public (Public Writer Service) A local proximity service helping individuals overcome written and digital barriers when completing administrative procedures and paperwork, delivered in person and through dedicated platforms.

Quantifiable outcome

• 478,000 interpretations performed in 2025, averaging over 1,900 interventions per working day
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Ministère de l'IntérieurcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment ministry as key institutional partner for language access services in public administration, emergency response, and immigration procedures.
• Cour Nationale du Droit d'Asile (CNDA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational court for asylum law. ISM Interprétariat provides professional interpreters for territorialized CNDA hearings, with 10,352 interpretations in 2025.
• Office Français de l'Immigration et de l'Intégration (OFII)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench Office for Immigration and Integration, providing language access for asylum seeker healthcare pathways and integration services.
• Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides (OFPRA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench Office for Protection of Refugees providing interpretation for asylum application interviews and refugee status determinations.
• Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLargest hospital system in Europe, utilizing professional interpretation services for non-French-speaking patient consultations across all departments.
• Croix-Rouge françaisecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership for family reunification services (RLF) through video interpretation, and collaboration on mental health events and professional encounters.
• Samusocial de PariscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmergency social services (115) partner, averaging 20 daily phone interpretations for crisis intervention and social support.
• CDC Habitat AdomamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial housing provider for migrants, using interpretation services for resident support and social integration.
• Médecins Du Monde (MDM)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare access observatory partner, collaborating on advocacy for language access in healthcare.
• Centre Primo LevimajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCare center for torture victims providing mental health services to 400+ people annually from 50 countries, with regular interpreter interventions.
• URPS Médecins Libéraux PACAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional union of liberal physicians, co-developing interpretation services for independent doctors in the Martigues territory.
• GHU Paris Psychiatrie & NeurosciencesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPsychiatric and neuroscience hospital group, partner in mental health events and CAPSYS specialized services for exiled persons.
• Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity hosting OFII's partner day on asylum seeker healthcare pathways.
• Mille ParcoursminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation supporting women victims of violence, participating in professional encounters to improve interpreter-professional collaboration.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Lilt: AI-powered translation platform combining machine translation with human review. Represents the emerging AI-translation competitive vector that could pressure traditional interpretation and translation pricing models.
• Smartling: Translation management platform serving enterprise customers with translation automation and professional services. Comparable in written translation services but with a software-first delivery model targeting enterprise localization buyers.

Direct peers

• Boostlingo: Interpretation platform provider offering on-demand phone and video interpretation. Comparable in phone/video interpretation delivery, though focused on technology-enabled platform delivery rather than community/social specialization.
• CyraCom: Major healthcare-specialized interpretation provider offering phone, video, and in-person services. Directly comparable to ISM's healthcare vertical (35% of activity), serving hospitals and clinics with language access solutions.
• Translated: Translation services company combining human and AI translation across 200+ languages. Comparable to ISM's written translation service line, with technology-augmented delivery model.
• Akorbi: Language services company offering interpretation, translation, and localization with multilingual staffing. Comparable to ISM in offering interpretation across multiple languages to enterprise and government clients.
• LanguageLine Solutions: Largest global provider of interpretation and translation services, offering telephone, video, and in-person interpretation across 200+ languages. Closely comparable to ISM in service mix and language coverage, but operates as a commercial entity at much larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• TransPerfect: World's largest language services provider offering translation, interpretation, and localization. Comparable across interpretation and written translation services, with broader commercial enterprise focus.
• Lionbridge: Global language services company offering translation, interpretation, and localization at enterprise scale. Comparable in interpretation and translation service offering but operates across broader enterprise customer base.
• RWS Group: Global language and content services provider offering translation, localization, and interpretation. Comparable in translation and language services scope, operating at broader enterprise scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ISM_Inter
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCqvlrUOdKbrP-oQVKSqtd8Q/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/InterServiceMigrantsInterpretariat
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ism-interpr%C3%A9tariat
• Instagraminstagram.com/ism_interpretariat

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ISM Interprétariat