Vital Link aims for a Fairer Trade

Vital Link are set to bring the Fair Trade market directly to Facebook, and in doing so Vital Link will be able to leverage the social attitudes of its users to help promote Fair Trade.

By connecting consumers to distributors, Vital Link Group will be able to harness the power of the social networks people are using, giving them access to a new and vibrant market. Justin Scott, CEO, says “Traditional social networking allows users to send pictures and messages to their friends; and virtual gifts. We want to extend that interaction, to let them send real items and gifts to their family, friends and anyone else.”

Justin, and the rest of the team that make up Vital Link, set out to use technology to engineer a simple and achievable solution to the problem of poverty. However, as poverty stems from many roots, they decided to tackle one area in particular; artisans.

Artisans in developing countries have a limited market; they lack exposure to social networking channels, thus they are missing out on a massive potential market.

Scott explains that “With money being spent on virtual gifts on Facebook, we decided that we could use this market to the benefit of those people so desperately in need. At the same time we give the users on Facebook real, meaningful gifts to send to their friends.”

The gift giving application they have created on Facebook is called Vital Gifts. The products available are made by artisans in developing countries all over the world. These artisans are living in regions of extreme poverty, and through Vital Link it is hoped their future prospects can, and will, improve.

All the products showcased are fair trade, meaning that the artisan who made the gift receives a fair and just price for their work.

Vital Gifts showcases a distributor’s products and facilitates a sale. Once a sale is made an order is sent to the local distributor, who then fulfils an order. This makes it simple to scale the business, as new distributors and products can easily be added.

Vital Gifts will be creating a richer social networking experience through giving gifts, and at the same time be promoting "social purchasing", helping artisans and craft makers in developing countries by promoting Fair Trade

Vital Link is made up of three community and business minded individuals that have seen a need, and have decided that using their combined skills, they can help to make a difference.

Justin Scott, CEO, is a networker and entrepreneur extraordinaire; this in part is instrumental to the development of Vital Link’s professional network.

Whereas Sam Dalton, Chief Technical Officer and technological genius, provides the innovative and creative side to Vital Link’s technology.

The third member of Vital Link is Medha Ghatikesh, Chief Branding Officer/Co-Founder, cares deeply about the planet and its people. She is passionate about the eradication of poverty through fair trade, and believes that it is possible to see a poverty free world in our lifetime.

Sam and Medha met while studying at Auckland University; whilst Justin has been a friend and collaborator with Sam for a few years. It was soon discovered that the three had something in common; the need to make a difference. To do this, they aim to empower people to make the choices that really matter – to keep the wider, global community in mind.

In April 2010, the trio beat more than 100 other groups in the Microsoft Imagine Cup to make the top 20 list. Their commitment and hard work saw them picked as one of four national finalists by a judging panel comprised of Microsoft employees, business experts and technology journalists

Vital Link’s greatest achievement so far has been establishing relationships with big players in Fair Trade – the World Fair Trade Organisation, the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation, the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand, and the Global Poverty Project. These relationships can help Vital Link achieve its goal of educating people to do things differently, to look outside the usual community, to work toward creating a fair trade system that will have far reaching benefits.

Vital Link, from small beginnings, are looking set to help foster a community of people of like minds, who wish to help make a difference for people the world over.

More information

Justin Scott
Chief Executive Officer
Vital Link Group Ltd

www.vitallinkgroup.com