In a world of fast changing demographics, Faroese company Nemlia is striving to make a genuine difference for caregivers and those in need of care. Through supporting care providers by freeing up their time and offering peace of mind to deliver high quality help and assistance more efficiently, the end goal is to improve everyday life for those in need of care, their families and for caregivers. Nemlia has started this mission by offering services for care homes around Europe.

Today, 10% of the world’s population is over the age of 65. In 2050, that ratio is expected to be around 16,5%, according to the United Nation’s World Population Prospects 2022. The number of fellow citizens requiring care in the coming years is quite simply staggering. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly harder to find the right number of caregivers to help the elderly. This is already a massive problem around Europe.
Every society is forced to rethink and reinvent their care sector. Sooner rather than later.

“Some have described it as a grey tsunami. No matter what you call it, dramatic demographic changes are taking place here and now,” Nemlia COO Peer Bentzen says. “In Germany, there is a shortage of 250,000 care workers already. We are faced with a huge challenge and have been for some time now,” Peer says.
Enter Nemlia. A Faroese based care and healthtech company on a mission to give elderly people a better quality of life by improving the work environment for caregivers. In essence, the company’s digital service releases caregivers from unpersonal routines, frees time and makes it possible to provide more and better personal care for the people living in the care homes. This frees the employees from struggling to keep up with the needs of the elderly and it secures that unwanted situations at the care homes are avoided.

Improving quality of life

Co-tenants from the company’s early days in Hugskotið, Tórshavn’s startup hub, recall how fellow entrepreneurs enrolled to test sensors, bracelets and other gizmos on a regular basis.
Since then, the business has enrolled in cooperation and services with care homes across more countries and set up offices across Tórshavn, Copenhagen and Heidelberg and pivoted completely.
“The close cooperation with caregivers has enabled us to set up services that are suited for the needs of the individual elderly at the care home and adapted to the wishes of the caregivers,“ Eyðbjørg Leo says.
She is responsible for customer success at Nemlia and has been with the company almost since the beginning. Eyðbjørg has a background in nursing and after working across hospitals and care homes in Denmark and the Faroe Islands she obtained a degree within Digital design and User experience, equipping her with a unique prerequisite for understanding the everyday reality of care givers and the possibilities – and restrictions – of technology.
“We base our solutions on caregivers’ actual working conditions to make sure that care providers are liberated by digital services. The care homes are our customers and partners. We get feedback from them regarding the improvements of their own working conditions and also the quick positive improvements of the health situation and conditions of the elderly. The employees now have more time to really care and nurse. It is such a great journey we are on,“ Eyðbjørg says.

Unlimited potential

The approach works. Today, Nemlia’s customers can be found across the Faroe Islands, Denmark, and Germany and with more markets in the pipeline Nemlia’s COO is convinced that the company is on to something.
Having worked in tech for more than a quarter century with companies such as Microsoft, AOL, and Deutsche Post DHL Group, Peer Bentzen is highly excited about Nemlia´s road ahead.
“We find ourselves at the doorstep of a revolution within the care sector with new care models on the horizon and with databased care services at its core. This opens many new benefits for caregivers, elderly and their families, and it is a way to make ends meet in a world where the number of elderly people in need of care is skyrocketing while the number of caregivers are under pressure. We are happy that our Faroese company is a part of this journey towards better lives for more people” Nemlia’s COO says.
“Some thought that it would be impossible for a Faroese company to gain this position and influence. But the close collaboration in a small country has offered us quick learnings that are now implemented in solutions in other countries. The salmon and fishing industry have succeeded with this mentality and proved that it is possible to dream big. I thoroughly believe that we at Nemlia have the same strength and that we will continue to change caregiving for the better to improve quality of life for millions of people by empowering caregivers to have a great work environment and love for their profession,” Peer says.

The value of home field advantage

“Basically, Nemlia enables better quality of life for the world’s growing elderly population. We help caregivers getting more time to provide close and personal care for the elderly at care homes. This reduces stress amongst the employees and makes them provide more personal services for the elderly, who now experience better health and psychological wellbeing,“ COO of Nemlia Peer Bentzen says.
The company has its headquarter in Tórshavn where Eyðbjørg Leo, a former nurse with a degree in Digital design and User experience, forms an essential part of the team. She has been with Nemlia since the early startup days in Hugskotið, the Faroese capital’s entrepreneurial hub. Since then Nemlia has set up offices in Tórshavn, Copenhagen and Heidelberg and works with care homes across Germany, Denmark, and the Faroe Islands.
To great effect, Nemlia is benefitting from its origins in the North Atlantic isles. The Faroe Islands face many of the same challenges and conditions as other societies: an increasing number of elders, pressure on public health care, escalating care costs. According to Nemlia, the advantages of being part of a small society include being so close to customers in a sector where trust is vital.
“Even in Nemlia’s early phases we were able to establish cooperation with local nursing homes which gave us the opportunity to be live in a real environment, with real challenges for the care givers, providing us with real data. We receive feedback instantly making it possible to fix issues here and now. This is the reason why we are now also successfully providing services in the care industry in other countries, and we are constantly iterating,” Eyðbjørg says, stressing the importance of a strong home base for optimization.
If you’re curious to learn more about Nemlia or other startups that have been a part of Hugskotið, please find more information here
Also feel free to visit www.nemlia.com