French (France) 
English (UK) Issues and challenges of crafts
The stakes are high and the political commitment of the public partners will have to rise to the support of an occupying sector between 30 and 60% of the urban occupied assets and contributing between 5% and 30% of the GDP in each of our countries. where the importance of the involvement of the highest authorities of our countries in the choice of promotion and development policies of the sector.
The current dynamics of craftsmanship and the commitment of all CODEPA stakeholders and member states, suggest that this sector will play a determining role in the economic future of these countries:
By contributing more to the creation of paid employment;
By strengthening rural non-farm employment upstream and downstream of agriculture;
Contributing more to reducing underemployment;
improving trade balances;
Further enriching economic growth.
The strategy of pooling resources, supporting and supporting individual artisans and craft enterprises is therefore a fundamental issue.
By developing the market for craft support services (financial services and non-financial services), this will create the most favorable conditions for valuing the creativity, wealth and know-how potential of the craft industry. art, production and services, so that they can position themselves favorably on local and international markets.
It is for this purpose that CODEPA has initiated the SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR SMALL ARTISANAL AFRICAN ENTERPRISES (PAPEA) with the support of its African partners UEMOA, CEMAC and the Confederation of Artisans of Africa. from the West and the French partners Swiss Cooperation, AFD, APCM France.
The purpose of PAPEA is to enable the African private sector, made up of about three-quarters of small businesses and craft workshops, to contribute to economic and social development by facilitating small businesses' access to markets for support services. financial and non-financial.
The PAPEA is composed of four structuring projects whose strong ideas are:
Make small enterprises a vehicle for development, social cohesion and strengthening of the private sector;
Give a central role to the intermediary consular and professional bodies so that they are at the service of the company builder of partnership and pooling of resources;
The emergence of a market for support services by strengthening support service providers, adapting their products to the characteristics of small business and cultivating entrepreneurship.
NB: a similar program is adopted by the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and is currently being implemented.