This audio is generated by AI, so pronunciation and expressions may not be fully accurate. The narration is only in English.
With the app available for download for free, interpreting service Oyraa uses human interpreters to support over 150 languages. Unlike many traditional interpreting services that require customers to book an interpreter for a minimum length of time, such as half a day, with a hefty minimum fee, Oyraa allows users to pay per minute of service. Each interpreter in Oyraa's network sets their own rate.
All together, Oyraa's interpreters come with expertise in over 70 fields, and the service is available 24/7.
Oya Koc, CEO and founder of Oyraa, Inc., established the company in 2017. Originally from Turkey, Koc lives in Tokyo and is a Japanese citizen.
She explains that she got the idea for Oyraa from international friends living in Japan who would call her to ask for help navigating Japanese-language services, such as hospitals or real estate agencies. At the time, Koc was working as a strategy and management consultant in Tokyo. She looked for an interpreting service her friends could use, only to find that the industry mostly focused on businesses.
From there, Koc began interviewing interpreters to refine her budding business idea. She decided to quit her job to found Oyraa, telling herself, "If I try, there are a lot of things that I can experience and learn. If I succeed, that is great. If I fail, that will be a learning experience and I will still find my way."
Although Koc originally envisioned Oyraa as providing an interpreting service for individuals, Japanese businesses were also keen to make use of Oyraa's app-based service and per-minute rate. By now, enterprise solutions constitute the majority of the company's revenue.
"The number of international residents in Japan, as well as Tokyo, is increasing fast. Plus, there is a lot of inbound tourism as well," Koc says. "You cannot really guess when someone will come to a store or agency and ask for a service, or what language they will speak. So having this on-demand service that you can use anytime is a powerful tool for many companies."
At the time Koc founded Oyraa, machine translation was far less advanced compared with today, and AI tools were not as sophisticated. But despite the leaps and bounds that translation tools have made in recent years, Koc says that demand for human interpreters is still growing, at least for now.
"There are many times that people feel more comfortable and safer because there is a person who can understand all the background and context, and is bridging this gap through communicating in a different language," she explains.
Although people around the world are becoming increasingly comfortable relying on digital translation tools, which are often free to use, in Koc's experience "Japanese people are happy to pay for good services." As a result, the majority of Oyraa's paying users are Japanese.
In order to offer interpreting support for more than 150 languages, Oyraa maintains a network of over 3,000 freelance interpreters, who are based all over the world. This geographic diversity helps Oyraa offer 24/7 on-demand service. In addition to the interpreters, the company also has dedicated teams—again, based globally—for app development and customer support.
Within the year, Oyraa plans to implement AI interpretation as well, which Koc sees as having a growing role in the industry going forward, even eventually being used at major events and forums that currently require simultaneous interpretation by humans.
For Koc, there is no better place to run her business than Tokyo.
"I love Tokyo—that is why I live here," she says, praising the metropolis' infrastructure, safety, and blend of tradition and innovation. "That is a very empowering force. As a founder, if you are comfortable and happy with where you live and the environment, that gives you a lot of positive reinforcement. Everything becomes easier to do, to live, to work."
Although, historically, Japan has not been known for gender parity in its economy or politics, the World Economic Forum notes that the country is seeing increased female participation in the workforce and higher representation of women in senior management.
For Koc, being a female founder is not unusual in the slightest. "I think the experience itself of being a female founder in Tokyo is not too different than in New York, Istanbul, or any other large city. I am not a person who wants to be under the spotlight just because I am a female founder, either in positive or negative ways. Business has nothing to do with gender," she says.
To women aspiring to be entrepreneurs, Koc says, "Feel confident about yourself and do not think too much about what people think, or about gender-related taboos or concepts. Focus on what you want to do in this life and what you want to achieve. Once you are focused on that, then all that other noise will disappear."
Koc encourages entrepreneurs to pursue their business ideas in Tokyo. "Japan is a great country to live in and to take on challenges, both professionally and personally," she says, citing Japan's culture, innovation, and stability. "The environment and conditions in Tokyo are great."
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is highly conscious of this potential as well, and it is working to create a welcoming environment for international talent, such as through offering internship opportunities at companies. Another key initiative is promoting the simplification of business start-up procedures and English support for prospective entrepreneurs.
As for Koc, her future plans for Oyraa are to continue to evolve alongside changing technology and societal needs. She also hopes the company will help build community and bridge information gaps—including news and current social topics—for international residents in Japan.
Koc and her company will surely carry on supporting Tokyo's continued growth as a hub for international business and home to a global community.
