The country officially launched its exhibition yesterday with variety of products for visitors.
Some 20 craftsmen and women from the Republic of South Africa present in Yaounde for the ongoing third edition of Cameroon’s International Handicrafts Exhibition (SIARC) officially opened their stands to visitors yesterday January 25. The craftsmen and their products which range from jewellery made out waste plastic papers and other food crops like beans, as well as dresses and shoes of varied designs and decorations of various forms, pulled crowds to their pavilion during the official launching ceremony of the exhibition chaired by the leader of the delegation, Elizabeth Thabethe, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry of South Africa. This was in the presence of Cameroon’s Ministers of Small and Medium-size Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts, Laurent Serge Etoundi Ngoa, Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Marie-Thérése Abena Ondoa and that of Social Affairs, Catherine Bakang Mbock, as well as the Board Chair of Elections Cameroon, Samuel Fonkam Azu’u.
In a brief but colourful ceremony, Elizabeth Thabethe said Africa has a lot of ingenuity in crafts work and with forums like SIARC, coupled with relevant incentives, “we can use this as an effective platform to enhance market access and economic empowerment. As such, we are mindful of the need to move beyond just production and selling in our small corners, but to take our work to international level,” she said. She sees in Cameroon an investment destination and hopes frank collaboration on win-win basis would accelerate the two country’s socio-economic development. “Cameroon is endowed with modest resources that present great opportunities to small and medium-size enterprises,” she added.
Her typical South African dressing, from head to toe, as well as the country’s music which the Minister joined her fellow countrymen in dancing to entertain guests at their pavilion, spoke of their love for their culture which is depicted, through the various craft works on display, in the over 20 stands at the SIARC village, for the visitors to see and buy.
