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    Tech on Top: Dublin’s T-CETRA Makes an Impact While Being a Great Place to Work

    A strong work culture commonly tops desirable traits sought by jobseekers. And Dublin is home to T-CETRA, a company that has been heaped with praise for how they treat employees.

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    Founded 16 years, the tech company whose name is a combination of “technology” and “etcetera,” was created to provide underserved communities with access to cell phone connectivity, said Abdul Akel, the company’s CEO & founder.

    Serving the Underserved

    Back in 2007, access to mobile service was limited to only “well-qualified” customers. 

    Translation: Only people with a bank account or credit card. 

    As a result, nearly a quarter of all Americans who weren’t “well-qualified” found themselves disenfranchised and more reliant on pay phones. 

    “T-CETRA developed an innovative new payment platform called VIDAPAY® to allow our network of 10,000 dealer locations in the USA [and] Puerto Rico to process and convert cell phone customers’ cash transactions to digital payments directly with the cell phone companies,” Akel said.

    The company has expanded VIDAPAY® beyond prepaid cell phone plans. They also offer additional products and services for customers who don’t have those qualifying bank accounts, including international long distance, Amazon Cash, Apple, Google Play, Xfinity and Fios cable/internet services, along with transportation.

    But that’s not all. 

    “We now have a 26,000 square-foot warehouse in Dublin that allows us to offer a much more robust variety of prepaid cell phones and accessories to our dealer network and enterprise customers in healthcare, government and other verticals,” Akel said. 

    T-CETRA is a B2B (business-to-business) company, so they don’t interact directly with consumers— the dealers do. In total, the company works with 460 dealers in Ohio. 

    Akel illustrates how a consumer would benefit from the company’s offerings. 

    “A consumer that walks into one of our 10,000 dealer locations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico can pay cash to add value to their Amazon account, even if they do not own a credit card,” he explained. “The value is transferred to the gift card balance on their Amazon account so they can take advantage of Amazon’s online marketplace – which importantly, helps bridge the digital divide for this underserved group.” 

    Top Honors

    The company’s growth is not all that’s happened in the last 16 years. Akel was named a 2022 Entrepreneur of the Year ® National Finalist (selected from 190 companies) by Ernst & Young LLP, one of the most respected business award programs in the world. 

    The company has also been honored with the following recent accolades:

    Abdul Akel, CEO & founder, honored with Entrepreneur of the Year - Photo courtesy of T-CETRA
    Abdul Akel, CEO & founder, honored with Entrepreneur of the Year – Photo courtesy of T-CETRA

    Elevating Employees 

    The 2021 Top Workplace Award was given based on employee feedback. When asked how his company pulled this off, the entrepreneur pointed to a number of things. The first was T-CETRA’s human resources department, which has been conscientious about employee engagement. 

    This includes allowing staff members to select the new company mission, which is “Making the underserved the better served.”

    But that’s not all.

    “We offer numerous benefits like student loan repayment, quarterly wellness stipend, hybrid work environment, a wellness room with equipment, massage chair, TV and a collaborative modern working space stocked with free coffee and snacks,” Akel said. “We support individual growth with classes and certifications, and we have a supportive and fun team environment.”

    Dublin: A Premium Location

    While T-CETRA was born in Hilliard, the company ballooned quickly and needed a much larger space. And that’s when they set their sights on Dublin, moving into their headquarters in 2017. 

    T-CETRA purchased the 25,000 square-foot building at 7240 Muirfield Dr. to house their growing business on the top floor, and lease the first floor to different local companies. 

    “Dublin had the building space we were looking for, access to top-tier tech talent, plus other excellent IT companies with which to partner/network, and numerous amenities like walking trails and access to great restaurants,” he said. “We enjoy a close working relationship with the mayor, city manager and economic development team.”

    On top of that, Akel wanted to be in a “premium location where it would be easy to recruit top tech talent.” 

    He said the city offers very competitive incentives for employers based on headcount growth. That’s a good thing for T-CETRA, which has grown by about 30% since 2019 and now has about 150 employees. 

    A Community Partner

    Not only do T-CETRA leaders work to be good to their employees, but they also want the company to be a caring community partner. 

    “We offer four hours of paid volunteer leave so employees can give back, such as using this time for various teams to sort items at the Mid-Ohio Food Bank,” Akel said. 

    Company leaders also co-created an organization known as NeighborRelief, which helps to facilitate crowdsourced funding to pay for essential services for those in need in the community, including cell phone service, utility bills and other expenses.

    They also launched the T-CETRA Foundation, which provides grants to organizations that support financial literacy and/or tech support for community and economic development in underserved areas.

    “And we always have a team that participates in the Dublin Corporate Charity Cup,” Akel added. 

    The Charity Cup is a two-day event where employees from local businesses compete in challenges as a way to promote employee wellness and community involvement. The event is ultimately used to raise money for important causes. 

    Leading with kindness and generosity is at the forefront of T-CETRA. It’s why they’ve earned such accolades and continued to be a celebrated partner in Dublin. 

    To learn more, visit tcetra.co.

    City of Dublin economic devleopment

    Our technology series is presented by our partners in the City of Dublin.

    Dublin is a city of more than 47,000 residents located just northwest of Columbus, Ohio. The City of Dublin Economic Development team has a vision to make Dublin a Midwest IT Magnet through business leadership and sustainable workforce development. This commitment goes beyond short-term skills training to include long-term strategic and cultural support for the entire Dublin business community. Dublin is one of America’s Top 20 Creative Class Cities and is home to more than 20 corporate headquarters, an entrepreneurial center, 3,000+ businesses, world-class events and the urban, walkable Bridge Street District.

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    Chris Alexis
    Chris Alexishttps://www.columbusunderground.com/
    Chris Alexis is a freelance writer for Columbus Underground. He has been crafting pieces since he could put pencil to paper and fingertips to keyboards. His work runs the gamut, including award-winning news articles, web articles (he also writes for Us Weekly), and helping a former NFL executive grow his international speaking career. He graduated (twice!) from The Ohio State University, with degrees in communications and journalism. He’s also a huge movie buff (of all genres) and loves spending time with his wife and kids.
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