A Group of Expats & Indonesian Nationals Are Pushing Hard For A Digital Nomad Visa For Bali.
Olumide Gbenro, Wahyu Taufiq, and Oli Nold come from different continents but it is their shared love for the island of Bali that has brought them together.
The three entrepreneurs recently started an initiative to ideate and create a legal visa for remote workers living and working online in Bali, also known as a “Digital Nomad Visa.” They have prepared a formal document written in both Indonesian and English, which has been backed by data collected amongst their online communities around South East Asia, particularly on the island of Bali.
Olumide, a third culture child who was raised in Nigeria, England, and the United States from the age of 13 is the founder of Digital Nomad Summit and has experience primarily within the remote entrepreneur community. Having spent much of the last year in Bali, his ability to connect with local people has brought a unique perspective that such a visa would need. One that builds in policies to ensure a direct benefit to the people of Indonesia, and especially the people of Bali where digital nomads disproportionally reside.
He made the initial efforts to reach out in collaboration with Mr. Taufiq after seeing his Facebook post regarding collaboration. Through assistance from The Chiang Mai Entrepreneurship Association and a key member of the organization Mai Trebuil, who provided past survey methods, he formulated a survey that collected data on the economic impact on Digital Nomads in Bali. This survey included important metrics such as their cost of living, spending habits, the amount spent on currently available visas, as well as open responses on attitudes toward the Digital Nomad visa.
Wahyu is a recognized entrepreneur in Indonesia, and founder of DIY Academy, a platform that empowers Indonesian youth by teaching in-demand digital skills. He's highly polished having been selected to represent his nation in various multinational conferences. He is an academic who has attended prestigious universities across Indonesia and is the country manager at Draper Startup House, a chain of business hotels for entrepreneurs funded by billionaire Tim Draper. He embraces his leadership roles and has taken on the ambassador role so strongly that it has given him the opportunity to meet with elected Indonesian officials in the capital city of Jakarta, and to present a strong case for Digital Nomad.
Oli Nold is a serial entrepreneur who has started and sold multiple online businesses, most notably, HomelessnHappy. In his near-decade of traveling as an entrepreneur he has also built up online community NomadX, a housing platform originating in Portugal with 10,000+ online members, entrepreneurs who are spread across the world. His role is to disseminate the news to the global network and learn what needs the remote work population living in Bali needs, as well as how the group can contribute to the causes that benefit the country of Indonesia and Bali.
The trio has just begun, but their impact is already being felt as many partners emerge to create a more visible movement.
Wahyu has successfully submitted the proposals and each day new partners emerge from around the world who are excited to support and back the initiative.
Olumide and Oli focus on continuing to nurture their online nomadic groups, having recently secured Gary Vaynerchuk to speak to the NomadX.Com Facebook community on July 20th. Gary Vaynerchuk’s endorsement “The macro concept of what we’re talking about is 100% going to happen, it’s already happening and this has sped it up by an absolute decade…An unlimited amount of people will be traveling all over the world working, it’s just very obvious” was a strong sentiment in light of the impending legal status of foreigners living in Bali.
Only time will tell whether or not these men will succeed but their excitement, vigor, and determination indicate that they have a great chance.
