Minister Laurent Serge Etoundi Ngoa outlined its stakes and prospects on Wednesday February 12, 2014.
Fine craftsmen and women in Cameroon and some 19 countries within and without Africa will converge on the trade fair site at the Tsinga neighbourhood in Yaounde from February 20 to showcase their know-how, create business contacts as well as examine and propose solutions to problems that plaque the efficiency of the potentially wealth-creating sector. This will be within the framework of the fourth edition of the biennial International Handicrafts Fair of Cameroon (SIARC) to run from February 20 to March 1, 2014.
The Minister of the Small and Medium-size Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts, Laurent Serge Etoundi Ngoa, accompanied by his colleague of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, gave a press conference at the Tsinga site yesterday February 12.
Innovations
Unlike the previous editions which have either held at the courtyard of the Yaounde City Council or that of the National Museum, the fourth edition placed on the theme, "Cameroon's handicrafts in the era of decentralization: Stakes and challenges," Minister Etoundi Ngoa disclosed, will hold at the trade fair site at Tsinga. The choice of the new site, the Minister said, is to host as many fine craftsmen and women as possible as well as revive the once vibrant Tsinga trade fair site which almost disappeared into oblivion. Another innovation is that some 800 stands are already erected to host best craftsmen that have been selected from the regional handcrafts trade fairs that held across the country last year.
Participating Countries
The Minister disclosed that besides craftsmen and women from Cameroon, the Tsinga rendezvous will also host ingenious craftsmen and women from some 19 countries within and without the continent. Professor Etoundi Ngoa said about ten countries have already confirmed their participation and that by the end of the week, the remaining nine would do so.
For those that have been selected from the country, the Minister said, government is transporting them from their respective regions and will be catered for, for the ten days that the fair is expected to span through. Government, he said, has budgeted FCFA 700 million for the fair.
Specificities
Besides exhibiting their know-how in the vast village that is currently undergoing refurbishing for the 10,000 daily visitors awaited, the exhibitors, through workshops and other reflection forums, will share experiences on how best to emerge and jointly seek solutions to problems hindering their effective functioning.
