Côte d'Ivoire will be the guest of honor at the 9th edition of the Cameroon International Handicrafts Fair (SIARC), scheduled from July 27 to August 5, 2026, in Yaoundé. The announcement followed a meeting between the Cameroonian Minister of SMEs, Social Economy and Handicrafts, Achille Bassilekin III, and his Ivorian counterpart, Ibrahim Kalil Konaté, on March 26, on the sidelines of the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Ivorian Minister enthusiastically confirmed his country's participation as a special guest at this biennial event. SIARC is a major event for the promotion and marketing of handicrafts, offering artisans a platform for visibility and direct sales. It also enables them to showcase their know-how to a national and international audience, generate income and establish business partnerships.
For this 2026 edition, the organizers have chosen the theme: "Between tradition and modernity: how to stimulate artisanal innovation?". This theme highlights the tension, but also the complementarity, between traditional know-how and new forms of production, marketing and valorization linked to technological developments. Handicrafts, in Cameroon as in many African countries, are based on techniques passed down from generation to generation and are a strong marker of cultural identity.
By inviting Côte d'Ivoire as the guest of honor, Cameroon wishes to give this event a stronger regional dimension. This strategic choice could boost trade between artisans from both countries, opening up new opportunities for outlets, cooperation and skills sharing in a sector with strong value-creation potential. The previous edition of SIARC, in 2024, attracted over 20,000 visitors and around 800 exhibitors. Tunisia was the guest of honor.
SIARC 2026 aims to be a platform for reflection and experimentation on possible ways of transforming the handicrafts sector, in particular through the integration of digital technology, improved design and packaging, access to finance, the structuring of supply chains and adaptation to international standards.
