The word ‘nanban’ literally means ‘friend’ in the classic Indian language Tamil. True to its meaning, Nanban’s sole vision is helping the community at large attain financial freedom and supporting the underprivileged through socially relevant initiatives. Today, Nanban Foundation spearheads several philanthropic initiatives on a global scale.

It all started in 2001 when visionary founder and CEO—Mr. Gopala Krishnan, fondly known as GK to his friends—was overwhelmed by the plight of retail investors during the dot-com bust. After extensive research, he formulated a simple success formula called GK Strategies™ that makes it possible to generate cash flow, regardless of market condition.

His strategy enables even newbie investors to reap the rewards of derivative trading by mechanically following the steps in a disciplined manner while removing the stress associated with trading. Once convinced of its potential, GK started sharing this knowledge with his friends.

As the strategies’ popularity grew through word of mouth, he started conducting free formal training sessions twice a year, in addition to his successful IT career as a C-level executive in a Fortune 500 company.

In 2018, GK moved to Dallas, where he met Mani and Sakthi — Nanban’s two other founders. Both were successful IT professionals with extensive experience in banking and automation, respectively. With a shared passion for social service, the ‘Trio’ immediately became close family friends.

Once GK gave them an outline of “GK Strategies” and its benefits, they immediately identified the vast benefits it offered to generate funds. These funds could assist their life’s passion: service and popularizing organic farming. They both attended subsequent training sessions and started practicing GK Strategies™ using their own trading accounts.

Pleasantly surprised at the consistent cash flow, they encouraged their friends and family members to attend GK’s knowledge-sharing sessions. Thus, Nanban Foundation was born to help people achieve financial freedom thru the education of GK Strategies.

Due to constraints brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, “GK Strategy Sessions” were conducted online by a dedicated team of volunteers. During 2020, the Foundation had already trained around 15,000 Nanbans from all walks of life.

Sakthi’s passion for popularizing organic farming blossomed into a new initiative: Mothers for Mother Nature, a project designed to help farmers, the backbone of society, in association with Nammalvar’s Vanagam, India. The success of this initiative has reached a global audience. We’re currently working with governments in Africa and South America to partner with Nanban and roll this project out throughout their respective countries.

In association with TekForce India, Nanban Foundation has touched the lives of many underprivileged in India. Providing thousands of free daily meals during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating women empowerment initiatives, and environmentally friendly initiatives (such as providing solar power to unelectrified tribal communities, etc.) is how Nanban Foundation is giving back to the Indian communities.

Nanban is committed to continuously evolving to serve all Nanbans—rich and poor, known and unknown—and is determined to make financial freedom a reality for everyone.