Careship is a Berlin-based startup aiming to tackle the growing problem of how we care for our elderly. It’s a big problem in Europe in particular, where people are living much longer than they used to.
Careship helps families find a home-based caregiver for their loved ones. It uses as matchmaking algorithm to find qualified personnel, while advising on insurance benefits and coordinating all the moving parts in these arrangements.
Spark Capital is now leading a $4 million funding round into a brother and sister team which sees opportunity in the care industry reforms that are taking place in Germany and Europe.
Co-founders Antonia and Nikolaus Albert (siblings) founded Careship due to a personal experience in their own family: when their grandmother became care dependent, it was extremely difficult to find the right caregiver for her.
Europe is going through the biggest demographic shift of the 21st century. The amount of people in need of care in Germany is rising dramatically: Forecasts of the official office of statistics in Germany Statistisches Bundesamt calculate it will be 3.4 million people by 2030. The new healthcare reform in Germany created huge market opportunity overnight, when unlocking €13.7bn government funds for companionship services.
Organizing in-home senior care and companionship is tough, so startups could bring efficiency to this market.
Alex Finkelstein, the lead investor with Spark Capital says: “I’m inspired by this team and think their mission to use technology to digitize this market to bring prices down and simplify the process for families is a worthy one that addresses an urgent need.”
