Motivated By the Needs

In 2005 Bert and Jeanine Verbeeke moved to the small town of Zeku on the Tibetan Plateau with the vision of providing computer training for locals and ultimately establishing an IT business. Specifically the combination of the following 3 areas led them to establish themselves in this location:

1. The Need for Financial Development. Because of the remoteness of the area, limited personal economies, and the fact that trading is limited almost completely to the local level only, the local people have few resources by which to earn an income.

2. The Opportunity for Developing New Skills. Broadband internet is now available even in remote areas on the Tibetan Plateau, but few people know how to use it. With proper training, the internet can bring new sources of income and whole new consumer markets to the area.

3. The Problem of Brain Drain. People from rural areas who have received education have few job options since there are limited industries in the countryside. The result is that nearly all educated people migrate to the bigger cities to find work instead of remaining in their hometown, which creates many social and economic problems. More job options are needed in rural areas.

By developing this new resource of IT in rural areas, Global Nomad is able to address the above-mentioned issues and benefit the local community by introducing new financial markets and providing good, reliable jobs for educated people right in their hometown.

Expanding the Business

Global Nomad was originally started with not-for-profit status, but in 2008 was officially registered in Qinghai Province, China as a wholly foreign-owned business. Even though the skill level our original employees was extremely basic at the beginning, they are now capable of writing HTML code and programming quality websites, and they continue to advance in IT knowledge and web design skills thanks to the many visitors who have volunteered their time to teach them over the years.

In 2008 we entered the domestic market when we received our first Chinese customer, a local hotel that markets itself to Western tourists. By providing services for this client we became aware of Global Nomad’s vast potential to bridge the culture gap that exists between Chinese companies and their Western clients, and vice versa.

In summer 2009 the Global Nomad office moved to a new location within Zeku that better suits our needs. This new office provides us with more space for expanding the company and a separate room specifically for the training of prospective and new employees.