KEO Chetra

KEO Chetra Interpreting Division, a minority-owned, Asian-Pacific American-owned sole proprietorship based in Long Beach, California, provides on-demand interpreting and translation services to the Department of State as a prime contractor competing under full-and-open (no set-aside) procurements. The vendor operates exclusively under BPA task-order vehicles with the State Department's Bureau of Administration, serving diplomatic and international engagement activities performed in Washington, DC.

The vendor's customer concentration is extreme and singular: the Department of State Bureau of Administration accounts for 35 of 39 awards (92% by count, $718 thousand combined potential value out of $737 thousand total), with four additional task orders placed by the parent Department of State for $19 thousand. All work falls under NAICS Translation and Interpretation Services (PSC Support- Administrative: Translation And Interpreting). KEO Chetra holds positions on four active BPAs with the Bureau, each carrying a $150 thousand to $250 thousand ceiling. The most recent BPA (190PRL25A0570, awarded October 1, 2024, running through September 30, 2026) carries a $250 thousand ceiling and has generated six task orders worth $26 thousand combined potential value. Prior vehicles include 190PRL24A0570 ($150 thousand ceiling, nine task orders, $13 thousand combined potential value), 190PRL23A0570 ($150 thousand ceiling, eleven task orders, $18 thousand combined potential value), and 190PRL22A0570 ($150 thousand ceiling, six task orders, $13 thousand combined potential value). Older awards under 190PRL18A0570 account for one task order worth $18 thousand.

Activity declined sharply in 2024–2025 relative to 2021–2023. The vendor received 12 awards in 2022, 10 in 2023, 7 in 2021, but only 3 in 2024 and 4 in 2025. Across all 39 awards, only $87 thousand of the $737 thousand combined potential value has been obligated (12% obligation rate), suggesting the vendor invoices task orders as work is performed rather than receiving upfront funding. Representative recent work includes four October 2025 BPA calls under 190PRL25A0570 valued at $5,768, $6,236, $4,944, and $2,060 with completion dates ranging from October 28, 2025 to May 31, 2026; a $7,200 October 2023 task order supporting bilateral meetings and regional summits; and a $143 thousand October 2022 task order (the largest single award in the source data) running through September 2023. All contracts are firm fixed-price with no identified subcontractors. The vendor has no subcontracting footprint and does not hold positions on government-wide IDIQs, GWACs, or schedules outside the State Department's BPA family.