Our Story
Built because it shouldn't be this hard.
iCaria was born from a personal experience that too many families share: a parent living alone, a child living far away, and a gap between them that worry alone cannot close.
My father was living alone in a city I was not in. I called every day, but I did not really know how he was doing. When I tried to arrange help, the options were impersonal agencies, informal cash arrangements, and a lot of uncertainty. I did not know who was showing up, how long they stayed, or whether my father was comfortable with them. I built iCaria because that should not be the only choice.
In Their Memory
We built this for them. We keep building it for the parents you still have time to honor.
My mother…
She lived exactly the way she chose. Her condo in Scarborough, Ontario, was hers, and she meant that in every sense: her routines, her hours, her terms. She never learned English. After twenty-seven years in Toronto, Arabic stayed her only tongue. One night she fell trying to get to the bathroom. She did not have her First Alert necklace on. Her ordeal lasted hours before we found her, and we were told that if we had not come that day, she would not have made it. She passed not long after. Every day since, I have asked the same question: what if someone she knew, someone with a name and a face who spoke her language, had been there to check in, before that day became the day?
My father…
He came to Canada forty-five years earlier with no smartphones, no Google, just an unshakable belief that his children deserved more than the country we were leaving could give us. He gave us that life. The house in Pickering, Ontario was his, and he refused to sell it or move to a condo. He worried about strangers entering his home, even for minor repairs, so I did most of the work myself to spare him the fear. As he aged, English slipped from him; in his last years he spoke only Arabic. He passed at 91, in the house he had made his own.
iCaria is the work I wish we had done sooner for them. It is also the work we are doing now, for the parents you still have time to honor. The people who raised us deserve dignity, attention, and the choice to stay in the home they made.
Why Care at Home
The best care happens where life is lived.
Research consistently shows that our loved ones thrive in familiar environments. Their own home, with their routines, their memories, and their sense of self, is where they feel safest and most themselves.
But coordinating that care is rarely simple. Scheduling providers, tracking visits, managing tasks, keeping the whole family informed: without the right tools, it becomes a second job.
Emotional wellbeing
Familiar surroundings reduce anxiety and support mental health.
Continuity of care
Consistent providers build trust and understand individual needs over time.
Family involvement
Families stay informed and actively part of the care journey.
Independence preserved
Loved ones maintain autonomy and dignity in their own home.
Our roots, our reach
Built in Canada. Paying it forward.
Proudly Canadian.
iCaria is a Canadian company, and we are proud of that. The values built into this product, fairness, quiet competence, looking out for your neighbours, are the same values this country extended to many of us when we arrived. We are trying to honour that, in software and in service.
Care that travels.
Many of the families we serve carry roots in the Middle East. Our intent is to direct proceeds, beyond what it takes to run iCaria and operate sustainably, toward non-profit programs that support children and older adults in that region. Care that starts here, paid forward to where it is needed most.
This is a commitment of intent, not a legal pledge. We will share more as the company grows.
iCaria began with a simple observation. Families coordinating care across languages and time zones deserve two honest options. Some want a trusted human partner who speaks their language and knows their parent's name. Others want a platform that works and a network they can trust, without a middle person. We built for both. The shared foundation is the same: a community of iCaria Certified helpers and drivers, and a professional Family Advocate role for families who want one. The people who raised us deserve both dignity and choice.
I was in Toronto. My mother was in Hamilton. Before iCaria, I did not really know who was helping her. Now I do.
Who We Are
Built by people who have lived this problem.
Hamid Azzawe
Founder & Chairman of the Board
Healthcare technology leader. Previously at Amazon, Microsoft, Bloomberg, and RBC. Founded a senior care platform adopted by PointClickCare.
"I built iCaria because I was that son, calling every day from a different city, never really knowing if my father was okay. No family should have to choose between their career and their parent's dignity."LinkedIn
Rusul Memar
Co-Founder & President
Enterprise customer success leader. Over a decade at Microsoft, with senior roles at McAfee and CyberArk. Native Arabic speaker.
"In our culture, caring for your parents is not a duty. It is who you are. iCaria exists so that distance does not have to mean disconnection."LinkedIn