Q43

What Q43 does

Q43 AS is a Norwegian private limited company headquartered in Lyngdal, Vestagder, that operates as a municipal sheltered workshop (arbeidsmarkedsbedrift) providing vocational rehabilitation and supported employment services. Its core offering is the VTA (Varig Tilrettelagt Arbeid) program, delivered under contract with NAV (the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration), which places disability benefit recipients into permanently adapted work assignments supervised by a team of specialized advisors (veiledere). The organization also runs a public-facing café and catering operation out of its facility at Industriveien 8 in the Kvavik industrial area, and provides commercial production services including steel and plastic sign manufacturing for mailboxes and trails, and secure document shredding for business customers. An associated Training Office (Opplæringskontor) coordinated via the separate okvekstagder.no domain extends the organization's reach into vocational training coordination across the Agder region.

The business is governed under a municipal cooperative ownership model: Lyngdal and Farsund kommuner jointly own and appoint board members, with additional representation from employee representatives and NFU (Norsk Forbund for Utviklingshemmede), the Norwegian Association for People with Developmental Disabilities. Revenue is generated from three streams — NAV per-participant VTA funding (managed services), café and catering sales (transaction fees with prices in NOK ranging from 15 kr for coffee to 110 kr/kg for fruit platters), and fee-based production and document destruction services. Marketing is conducted through a WordPress website (q43.no), a Facebook page, and direct email inquiries segmented across three addresses (post, kantine, produksjon). No proprietary technology, mobile app, API, or AI/ML capability is disclosed; the technology footprint is limited to standard office tooling and Google Analytics for anonymized web analytics.

With 17 employees, Q43 is a small, locally embedded welfare service provider rather than a scaling technology business. Its defensibility rests on its regulated NAV authorization, municipal ownership structure, and specialized human-services expertise rather than on technology, data, or network effects. GDPR/Personopplysningsloven compliance is documented, with the CEO Øystein Sangesland serving as Data Protection Officer and a signed data processing agreement in place with NAV. The operating model is not venture-scaleable and should be evaluated as a stable social enterprise serving a defined regional catchment in Agder, Norway.

Name

Q43

Legal name

Q43 AS

Website

https://q43.no

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Q43 AS is a Norwegian municipal sheltered workshop in Lyngdal, Norway, providing NAV-funded VTA vocational rehabilitation for disability benefit recipients alongside a public café, catering, and production services (signage, document shredding). It serves regional NAV referrals, municipal customers, and local SMBs across the Agder region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyngdal

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Café and catering sales: Direct food service revenue from café operations and catering orders. Customers order via email ([email protected]) and can choose take-away or dine-in options.
2. VTA contract revenue from NAV: NAV pays Q43 to provide employment placement services for disability beneficiaries under the Varig Tilrettelagt Arbeid (VTA) program. Revenue is based on program participant placement and ongoing coordination services.
3. Document destruction and sign production services: Fee-for-service revenue from secure document destruction (makulering) and custom steel/plastic sign production for industrial and municipal customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Q43 AS operates a Norwegian vocational rehabilitation and work-integration center offering the NAV-financed VTA (Varig Tilrettelagt Arbeid) program for individuals with reduced work capacity. It supplements this welfare activity with a café and catering service (Drift Caféen), light production services such as signage, document destruction, and packaging, and an apprenticeship training office (Opplæringskontor) supporting candidates toward professional certifications.

Product overview

Q43 is a Norwegian vocational rehabilitation and work integration organization operating as a multi-service provider in Lyngdal. The core offerings consist of VTA (Varig Tilrettelagt Arbeid) – a permanent adapted work program for disability benefit recipients – combined with a café/catering service, and industrial production services (sign manufacturing and document shredding). The organization also coordinates through an associated Training Office (Opplæringskontor). Rather than a unified software platform, Q43 provides a portfolio of human services focused on workplace inclusion, offering participants diverse work tasks across multiple professional areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• VTA Program (Varig Tilrettelagt Arbeid)

Quantifiable outcome

• Participants can earn supplementary income in addition to their disability benefits

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• NAV (Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAV is the primary strategic partner and customer of Q43. Q43 acts as a data processor on behalf of NAV for information about VTA program participants. NAV provides participants through the Varig Tilrettelagt Arbeid (VTA) program and coordinates placements with Q43. Q43 receives payment from NAV for providing employment placement and support services.
• Lyngdal MunicipalitycoreOthersLyngdal Municipality holds board leadership position and appoints board members to Q43 AS. The municipality provides municipal oversight and governance while also being a potential customer for Q43's production and services.
• Farsund MunicipalitycoreOthersFarsund Municipality holds board representation and appoints board members to Q43 AS, providing municipal governance and oversight alongside Lyngdal Municipality.
• NFU (Norsk Forbund for Utviklingshemmede)supportingOthersNFU (Norwegian Association for People with Developmental Disabilities) holds board representation through appointed member Linda Buch Pedersen, ensuring advocacy for disability rights within Q43's governance structure.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Attende AS: Norwegian operator of multiple sheltered workshops and VTA-style vocational rehabilitation programs across several regions. Directly comparable to Q43 in mandate, NAV contracting, and hybrid production/services operating model.
• Shred-it (Stericycle): Global provider of secure document destruction services, directly comparable to Q43's makulering line. Operates at very different scale and as a pure-play commercial business, but competes for the same municipal and SMB shredding contracts.
• Hero Norge: Scandinavian chain of cafés and shops employing people with intellectual disabilities. Closely mirrors Q43's hybrid model of combining a public-facing café with vocational inclusion, though with a retail rather than industrial production layer.

Emerging players

• Stendi AS: Norwegian care and habilitation services company operating in adjacent social-services space. Partial overlap with Q43's VTA participant cohort through supported employment and daily-activity services.

Broad incumbents

• Iron Mountain Incorporated: Global information-management company with a secure shredding and document destruction division. Overlaps with Q43's production services line as a broad incumbent competing for the same municipal and industrial customers.
• Goodwill Industries International: Large US-based nonprofit operating workforce development, training, and supported employment programs for people with disabilities and other barriers to work. Comparable mission and revenue mix (government contracts plus commercial retail), but at vastly larger scale and different geography.

Regional players

• Samhall AB: Swedish state-owned provider of VTA-equivalent supported employment for people with disabilities. Comparable in mission and service mix but operates in Sweden rather than Norway, making it a regional rather than domestic peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/q43as
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/q43

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Q43