Leading in a growing economy

Egypt’s population is growing by 2% a year. What to do not to lose sight of the person behind the number.

Schneider Electric (SE) is a French multinational power management systems company. It supplies all the products you need to power a building. From a simple flat to an entire campus.

During a workshop in Amsterdam, the CEO of Schneider Electric (Egypt & North Africa) summed up our work very well: ‘When you start with the experience of your customers and learn to understand them better, then after that it is very easy to do the right things for them.’

Jalla, Jalla, in Attaba
• Schneider Electric Egypt & Northern-Africa
• Cairo, Egypt
• 2015

Egypt’s population is growing rapidly. About two hundred thousand people are added every year. This growth requires a lot of new housing and safe homes with reliable electrical connections. Schneider Electric can and wants to use its knowledge and experience in this regard. The role of electricians in this cannot be underestimated. How can SE help them even better so they can carry out their projects even better?

In Cairo’s Attaba district, many electricians do their shopping. The perfect place for Schneider Electric to support them precisely here.

In Cairo’s Attaba district, many electricians do their shopping. For Schneider Electric, this is the perfect opportunity to support them precisely here. But how?

Interviews and observations in the neighbourhood taught us a lot about people’s needs. To inspire the team, we also paid a visit to IKEA. In what ways is Attaba similar to IKEA? What can we learn from them about routing, safe loading and unloading and in-store information facilities? IKEA was a source of inspiration.

We found a suitable approach for each project. In the factory, the customer journey was central and we drew up Customer Journey Maps. And in the head office showroom, too, we found opportunities to improve the customer experience.

Methods
Field Research
Interviews
Shadowing
Prototyping
Co-creation
Business Model Innovation
Start with people

‘When you know what people care about, the rest will follow naturally.’ We are only too happy to hear this.

To start with this statement in a vibrant and optimistic country like Egypt was quite an honour. And although the design approach was new, everyone immediately felt comfortable with it and much was achieved.

Design in
the service
of people