Uloba SA

What Uloba SA does

Uloba – Independent Living Norge SA is Norway's largest provider of Borgerstyrt personlig assistanse (BPA), a user-controlled personal assistance scheme in which the person with a disability acts as work leader directing their own assistants while Uloba serves as formal employer. Founded in 1991 in Drammen, Uloba operates as a member-owned cooperative (samvirke) with approximately 1,900 members, ~7,000 employed personal assistants, and ~111 administrative FTEs. The organization originated BPA in Norway, contributed to the Norwegian Standard NS8435:2017 for BPA contracts, and holds direct service contracts with 187 Norwegian municipalities, serving 1,043 work leaders and onboarding roughly 100 new work leaders per year.

The service is delivered through an integrated ecosystem rather than a discrete software product: the Freedom intranet portal for work leaders and assistants, the Uloba Jobb recruitment portal, a Storyboard-powered e-learning platform, Worksoft scheduling tools, a 24/7 Supportsenter, and the Beslutningsstøtteråd (Decision-Support Council) model adapted from Vela Canada's Microboards. Funding flows primarily from municipal BPA contracts (member-paid under NS8435:2017 public-procurement rules) and NAV-funded workplace functional assistance, with a refundable 300 NOK membership fee on the consumer side. The organization is a registered non-profit cooperative, so there is no equity capital structure; expansion is funded operationally and through grants (e.g., Sparebankstiftelsen) rather than external investment rounds.

Uloba's commercial moat is built on regulatory authorship (NS8435), peer-led service delivery by advisors and leaders who themselves use BPA, a member community anchored by the annual Independent Living Festival and the Medlemsrådet, and brand recognition as the founder of Norwegian BPA. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed, but the scale of the assistant workforce implies substantial pass-through revenue from public welfare budgets. Forward growth depends largely on Norwegian policy outcomes — particularly the BPA-koalisjonen's campaign to transfer BPA from municipal to state administration — and on the incorporation of the UN CRPD into Norwegian law, effective January 1, 2026.

Name

Uloba SA

Legal name

Uloba – Independent Living Norge SA

Website

https://uloba.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Uloba SA is Norway's largest provider of Borgerstyrt personlig assistanse (BPA), operating as a member-owned cooperative that employs ~7,000 personal assistants and serves 1,043 work leaders across 187 municipal contracts, originating the Norwegian BPA model in 1991.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability Support Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (624310)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Help Supply Services (7363)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Special Education Staffing & Contracted Providers (Paras, Therapists, Specialists) (EDAJAKAL)

Keywords

• Personal assistance services
• Disability support services
• Member-owned cooperative
• Workplace functional assistance
• Decision support services

Headquarters

HQ city

Drammen

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Individual members pay a one-time membership fee of 300 NOK. The fee is refunded upon leaving. Membership provides access to BPA application support, legal assistance, courses, community, and a support center.
2. Municipal BPA contracts: Uloba is paid by Norwegian municipalities to provide BPA services to residents. Municipalities purchase BPA services from Uloba under the NS8435:2017 contract standard, following public procurement rules. This is the primary revenue stream funding the organization's operations.
3. NAV-funded functional assistance (funksjonsassistanse): For workplace assistance, NAV (the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration) funds and administers the arrangement. Uloba acts as the formal employer and receives funding through NAV for this service.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Uloba SA is Norway's largest provider of Borgerstyrt personlig assistanse (BPA), a user-controlled personal assistance service for people with disabilities. The organization acts as the formal employer of personal assistants while the individual (work leader) directs who provides assistance, when, where, and how. Uloba also offers workplace functional assistance (funksjonsassistanse) funded by NAV, and a Beslutningsstøtteråd (Decision-Support Council) model adapted from Vela Canada's Microboards.

Product overview

Uloba SA is Norway's largest BPA (Borgerstyrt personlig assistanse — user-controlled personal assistance) provider, founded in 1991 by people with disabilities. Its core product is the BPA service itself, where Uloba acts as formal employer of personal assistants while the person with a disability serves as work leader directing their own assistance. This core is supported by a suite of digital tools: the Freedom intranet portal for work leaders and assistants, the Uloba Jobb portal for recruitment, a digital handbook and e-learning portal for training, and a 24/7 support center. Uloba also offers Beslutningsstøtteråd, a decision-support council model developed from the Vela Canada Microboards approach. The organization operates as a member-owned cooperative, with membership providing advisory, legal, and community benefits alongside the service delivery. The products function as an integrated service ecosystem rather than a modular software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bente Skansgårds Independent Living-fond: A foundation established by Uloba to support disabled people who want to contribute to freedom, participation and knowledge about what it means to be disabled in society today.

Products and services

• Borgerstyrt personlig assistanse (BPA) User-controlled personal assistance program enabling people with disabilities to lead their own assistants, set their own schedules, and direct how assistance is delivered. Uloba acts as formal employer of the assistants while the work leader directs the service.
• Funksjonsassistanse (Workplace Functional Assistance) An NAV-funded workplace assistance model where Uloba acts as formal employer for assistants who support employees with disabilities at work, distinct from municipal BPA in that it is statutorily managed through NAV.
• Beslutningsstøtteråd (Decision-Support Council) A peer-support model developed by Uloba enabling people with disabilities to form advisory councils of trusted people to support decision-making, adapted from Vela Canada's Microboards.
• Medlemskap (Membership) Cooperative membership providing access to BPA advisory services, legal assistance, courses, community events, and political representation. One-time fee of 300 NOK, refundable upon cancellation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 187 Norwegian municipalities offer Uloba's BPA to residents
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Vela CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Vela Canada inspired Uloba to develop the beslutningsstøtteråd (Decision-Support Council) model, modeled on Vela Canada's Microboards. Uloba adapted this model to Norwegian conditions through a development project from 2016 to 2023, with funding from Sparebankstiftelsen.
• ENIL (European Network on Independent Living)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerENIL is the European network for Independent Living. Uloba is a member and participates in ENIL's network. ENIL's 1992 definition of an Independent Living organization establishes the four criteria that Uloba meets: democratic governance, only people with disabilities can have full membership with voting rights, people with disabilities are favored as representatives and leaders, and the organization is represented by people with disabilities.
• Fagforbundet (The Norwegian Union of Municipal Employees)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUloba has a collective agreement (tariffavtale) with Fagforbundet regarding assistant wages and working conditions. This partnership ensures assistants are employed under proper labor agreements.
• BPA-koalisjonen (BPA Coalition)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBPA-koalisjonen brings together the major Norwegian disability organizations (Uloba, NHF, FFO, Norges Blindeforbund) to advocate collectively for improvements to the BPA scheme, including the transfer of BPA from municipal to state responsibility.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stendi AS: One of Norway's largest private healthcare and personal-assistance providers, offering BPA services directly competing with Uloba for municipal contracts across Norway. Same customer (work leaders with disabilities) and same business model (formal employer of personal assistants).
• Ambea AB: Swedish personal-assistance and care provider with Norwegian footprint. Directly competes in the same disability-services and personal-assistance market under similar Nordic regulatory frameworks.
• Attendo AB: Major Nordic care services provider with personal-assistance offerings across Sweden, Finland, and Norway. Competes with Uloba for public-sector contracts serving people with disabilities.
• Humana AB: Nordic personal-assistance and care company with significant BPA-equivalent operations in Sweden and Norway. Comparable model (acts as employer while service user directs assistance) and Nordic regulatory environment.
• Team Olivia AB: Leading Swedish personal-assistance provider serving people with disabilities across Sweden, with Norwegian operations. Directly comparable in service model (user-controlled personal assistance with work-leader/assistant dynamic) and customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Norlandia Health & Care Group AS: Norwegian care services provider with personal-assistance offerings. Broader portfolio across healthcare, elderly care, and disability services, but competes with Uloba for municipal BPA contracts.
• Aleris Omsorg AS: Nordic healthcare and care services group with a disability and personal-assistance segment in Norway. Broader portfolio than Uloba but overlaps in municipal disability-services contracts.

Emerging players

• Vela Canada: Canadian non-profit behind the Microboards model that inspired Uloba's Beslutningsstøtteråd product. Operates a similar disability-rights and self-determination framework; a thematically and structurally related peer for cross-border learning and partnership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/uloba
• Facebookfacebook.com/ULOBA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uloba
• Instagraminstagram.com/uloba
• TikToktiktok.com/@uloba

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Uloba SA