Locations
Les femmes artisanes en pleine formation sur la digitalisation de leurs commerces
L’artisanat : un secteur en mal de commercialisation et sous-numérisé
Le secteur de l’artisanat en Algérie est un vecteur important du développement socio-économique du pays, comptant pour environ 1,3% du PIB national et 10,3 % des emplois du pays, surtout au niveau local, où il joue un rôle important dans la sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel matériel national.
L’artisanat en Algérie est confronté à un sérieux défi dans la commercialisation des produits, malgré un soutien conséquent des pouvoirs publics à travers la fourniture de locaux commerciaux et de formations techniques à titre gracieux. Ces défis de commercialisation ont été accentué par la pandémie de la COVID-19.
La raison tient au modèle économique de l’artisanat traditionnellement basé sur la vente en personne dans des boutiques qui sont elles-mêmes situées dans des espaces d’exposition dédiés. Il s’agit d’un secteur largement sous-numérisé.
La digitalisation des commerces apparaît comme une solution évidente à ce problème dans un pays où la taille du marché du e-commerce a connu une croissance accélérée ces dernières années dépassant l'équivalent de 1,5 milliard de dollars, avec l'accroissement du nombre de cartes de paiement (18 millions), même si la majorité des transactions se font encore par cash.
Les femmes artisanes
Un programme unique de digitalisation des commerces artisanaux tenus par des femmes
L’Accelerator Lab a eu la chance de croiser le chemin de The Annex DZ, le premier incubateur en Algérie à avoir développé un programme dédié à la numérisation des commerces tenus par des femmes, un programme baptisé WomWork, unique en son genre dans l’écosystème algérien, pour porter les activités des femmes entrepreneurs sur l’espace digital.
C’est ainsi qu’a pris forme une collaboration entre le PNUD et le ministère algérien du Tourisme et de l’Artisanat (MTA) afin d’adapter le programme développé par The Annex DZ à la spécificité des commerces artisanaux détenus par des femmes. La connaissance du problème et des besoins de la population cible du MTA couplée à l’ingénierie du développement du PNUD et au savoir-faire technique de The Annex DZ ont donné naissance à un programme unique dans l’écosystème algérien.
Lors des formations
Ce programme a été mis en œuvre conjointement par le PNUD, le MTA et The Annex DZ sous la forme d’un pilote en deux sessions de 5 jours chacune, la première en Décembre 2023 à Ain Defla et la seconde en Juillet 2024 à Chlef. Ce programme a regroupé 26 femmes artisanes de 05 Wilayas du pays (Aïn Defla, Blida, Chlef, Médéa, Tipaza) activant dans des filières allant de la couture et la broderie traditionnelles à la bijouterie traditionnelle ainsi que la confection de meubles et de céramique.
Les bénéficiaires du programme ont pu se familiariser avec les outils de l’accroissement de la visibilité en ligne, la création de site en ligne ainsi que les fondamentaux de l’entrepreneuriat, du management responsable et du leadership féminin. Elles ont également reçu les outils conceptuels nécessaires pour acquérir une autonomie digitale, innover leurs modèles d’affaires, accroitre leurs activités, renforcer leur compétitivité et améliorer leur viabilité sur le marché.
Traduction en Anglais
How the Accelerator Lab in Algeria supports women artisans expanding their businesses online
Handicrafts: an under-digitized sector with huge marketing needs
The handicrafts sector in Algeria is an important vector of the country's socio-economic development, accounting for about 1.3% of the national GDP and 10.3% of the country's jobs, especially at the local level, where it plays an important role in safeguarding the national tangible cultural heritage.
Handicrafts in Algeria are facing a serious challenge in the marketing of products despite significant support from authorities through the provision of commercial premises and technical training free of charge. These commercialization challenges have been accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The main reason for this is to find in the business model of craftsmanship which is traditionally based on in-person sales in shops that are themselves located in dedicated exhibition spaces. This is a largely under-digitized sector.
The digitalization of businesses appears to be an obvious solution to this problem in a country where the size of the e-commerce market has grown rapidly in recent years, exceeding the equivalent of $1.5 billion, with the increase in the number of payment cards (18 million), even though the majority of transactions are still made in cash.
A unique programme for the digitalization of women-owned handicraft businesses
The Accelerator Lab was fortunate enough to cross paths with The Annex DZ, the first incubator in Algeria to have developed a program dedicated to the digitization of women-owned businesses, a program called WomWork, the only one of its kind in the Algerian ecosystem designed to bring the activities of women entrepreneurs to the digital space.
This led to a collaboration between UNDP and the Algerian Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts (MTA) to adapt the programme developed by The Annex DZ to the specificity of women-owned craft businesses. The MTA's knowledge of the problem and needs of the target population coupled with UNDP's development engineering and The Annex DZ's technical know-how have given rise to a unique program in the Algerian ecosystem.
This program was jointly implemented by UNDP, MTA and The Annex DZ in the form of a pilot in two sessions of 5 days each, the first in December 2023 in Ain Defla and the second in July 2024 in Chlef. This program brought together 26 women artisans from 05 Wilayas of the country (Aïn Defla, Blida, Chlef, Medea, Tipaza) active in sectors ranging from traditional couture and embroidery to traditional jewelry as well as the making of furniture and ceramics.
The beneficiaries of the program were able to familiarize themselves with the tools for increasing online visibility, the creation of online sites as well as the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, responsible management and female leadership. They have also acquired conceptual tools necessary to enhance digital autonomy, innovate their business models, grow their activities, strengthen their competitiveness and improve their viability in the market.
What are the results of this pilot program?
The 26 beneficiaries of the program were widely consulted during and at the end of the training cycle to assess of the effect of the training on their businesses. The last round of data collection took place more than 06 months after the training to have a more complete appreciation of the results.
Based on qualitative criteria, almost 100% of the beneficiaries indicated that they had developed practical and technical skills to grow their businesses that instilled in them the confidence and entrepreneurial spirit necessary to flourish in the digital market. The artisans reported a better ability to make strategic decisions for their businesses, resulting in greater autonomy in the management of their online activities.
The program also allowed participants to expand their professional network by connecting with other women artisans, creating a community of support and experience sharing.
The commercial performance indicators are the most interesting. About 06 months after the training, 80% indicated that they had created an online business and 20% had even created 02 businesses while their orders increased by an average of 23% and their sales by 25%.
These are encouraging results showing that this kind of program bringing together women economic empowerment and business digitalization is a viable solution for similar contexts where women represent about 17% of all entrepreneurs and 30% of artisans, with a gender gap of 13% in access to digital technologies.
The next step is to develop this pilot program on a larger scale covering several regions of the country and a higher number of women artisans. Ultimately, the goal is to integrate this progam into the official training and support programs provided by institutions in the handicrafts sector.