Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ Categories
General
Glocal Desi is a membership based, global online platform (Portal) for overseas Desis to connect, meet and share with each other. The portal is already used by overseas Desis to connect with other / newly abroad Desis, meet in person at special Desi events, organise their own events or share requirements. Users can now also list their homes (for long term Rent or as a Paying Guest accommodation), sell their services (e.g. food, or car pooling) or sell goods online, and make / collect online payments. The portal provides a seamless and secure order management and payment services.
We are evolving into a first of its kind formal Desi Sharing platform, where overseas Desis not only network with other fellow Desis, but also offer their knowledge, skills and resources, as a service to new or touring Desis (e.g. tourists). We aspire to be a global player in next 5 years, connecting all Desis, glocally (i.e. globally local) and phygitally (i.e. physically & digitally). To maintain ingenuity, and to ensure trust among the community members, we are, and will remain, a closed 'Desi Only' community platform.
Social media / expat groups play a vital role in keeping our overseas Desi community informed, connected, and many of us, overseas Desis, use them extensively to advertise our homes, events, food or services. However, there is a large group of Desis, that visits overseas, but remains unaware of our (overseas Desi) activities / services, i.e. the Desi Tourists! We are uniquely placed to offer a hand-shake among overseas Desis and Tourist Desis.
Our main differentiater is that we are a "Desi only" community, which means people on our platform have a sense of belonging to join us. Apart from this emotional connection, we also offer some unique features, such as:
1. We are origin oriented, not destination: which means our users can search for Desis based on origin country, city, or language, who are living near-by, using our powerful search feature;
2. We do not connect all users with all other users. A user has the liberty to choose people from their own community, country or language to connect with, without having to join multiple discussion forums or social media groups;
3. In case of moving places, users do not need to join or leave any existing or new social media groups, they simply need to update their location in their profile, which will enable them to search for Desis near their new location;
4. We not only connect people digitally, but also enable them to join physical events, and meet Desi in real life, near them.
5. Our powerful market place for sharing homes, food and services is specially to empower Desi spouses, home makers, home chefs or housewives, who move around with their better-halves all around the world, have special skills, but are not able to utilize them due to language barriers, or family conditions. They can now share their skills with other Desis, and earn their household expenses.
6. Last but not least, our requirements sharing feature, through which overseas Desi, if missing any specific thing from home country, can ask other touring Desis to bring it for him / her, or ask for Travel Companionship (e.g. for parents) in return of (or no) financial reward. He / she can also earn while returning to the home country, by fulfilling a requirement posted by someone from the home country.
Join us today, and explore these and many other features!
We connect Desis with other Desis, as well as with service providers (e.g. Event Organizers). Listing a profile, service or event on Glocal Desi is completely Free. Only when a user or a partner wants to avail the premium services, we charge a nominal subscription fee, which are available on our Pricing page. For our official meets, we may also charge a nominal registration fee, which is available on each official meets detail page. Lastly, if a user or partner organizes a paid meet, or sells online services via our platform (e.g. food orders), we charge a very nominal payment processing fee. Any event listed as Free event, always remains free and we currently do not charge any fee for listing of homes, free events or user requirements. See our terms of use for more details.
Our ultimate Vision is that "No one in the world should feel alone or isolated, as there is always someone people can Connect, Meet or Share with!", and Our Mission is to "Enable global movers (i.e. expats) to stay connected with their origin's global peers, empower their spouses to share skills & work from home, & let them share their services or needs with each other in a social, sustainable and cost-effective manner".
Services
In principle, all Desis (people of south Asian origin, living outside their home country) can avail our services. We would be glad to serve specially those who live alone, are single or have recently moved abroad and looking for Desi connections. Via our Share requirements service, we can also help people from Home countries of Desis to list a requirement that a Desi living outside can fulfill in accordance with their mutual understanding.
At present, we have five main service offerings:
1) Connect Digitally with other Desis, for online networking and sharing of knowledge and experiences;
2) Meet Physically, in official events organized by us, by our partners or other user's events or experiences;
3) Share Desi Services or Food, order online and manage payments securely and seamlessly;
4) Share Desi Homes, for rent, purchase, or as paying guest accommodation;
5) Share Desi travel needs or requirements, that other touring Desis might be able to fulfill.
We would be glad to have your organizations' events / meets listed on Glocal Desi. You can register as a partner by clicking here, and then uploading your event information on our Partners Portal. Make sure you read our terms of use, before you list your event on our platform.
A service or stuff is something that a user already has, and he / she would like to sell or share it with some one else. A requirement on the other hand is something that the user does not have, but he / she is looking for, which others may have or can fulfill it for him / her.