Design Management Staircase as a Measuring Unit: Understanding Design in Cairo Startups

Although there is a great need for Design, limited research is conducted on Design Management (DM) in the Middle East compared to Europe. One development in Cairo in the past decade is the increase of startups, generating a diversity of offerings. It is believed that the higher a company is on the DM Staircase, the more revenue it gets, among other benefits. Since Cairo startups are aiming to raise the Egyptian economy, this paper aims to define where Design lies by using the staircase as a measuring unit to plot startups against. Narrative interviews were conducted and processed to gain understanding from entrepreneurs and identify common terminologies used by startups. This paper addresses whether DM is adopted in Cairo but under different terminologies. It was found that existing Design terminology is frequently used in English which is not yet translated to Arabic, leading to miscommunication. Moreover, the paper concludes the plotting of startups against the DM Staircase to classify their Design integration. It was found that the level of DM involvement for the startups interviewed was at the lowest two levels. Therefore, this plotting paves the way for business consultants to help elevate startups onto the DM Staircase.