Ex-Post Evaluation of an Energy Efficiency Program: A Case Study of a Green Economy Financing Facility in Morocco

Industrial small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) hold substantial untapped potential for energy savings. However, this potential is rarely realized because of persistent financial, informational, and organizational barriers. Moreover, ex-post evaluations of the policy programs designed to overcome these barriers remain scarce, particularly outside the industrialized economies where most of the evaluation literature originates. This paper addresses this gap through an ex-post evaluation of the Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF), a program of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) that provides concessional financing and technical assistance to private sector companies investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy in Morocco. Drawing on program monitoring reports covering 126 participating companies and complementarysemi-structured interviews conducted for two illustrative case studies, the study quantifies the energy efficiency measures implemented, the associated financial investment, and the reported energy and CO2 savings. The participating companies implemented 309 measures corresponding to an estimated annual energy saving potential of 55,642 MWh, with an average investment of €547,734 per company. The findings extend the evaluation literature, which has largely focused on energy audit programs in high-income countries, by examining a blended finance instrument in a middle-income country context. The study also provides empirical evidence that may support the further development and harmonization of impact evaluation methodologies for industrial energy efficiency programs targeting SMEs.