Background
The Building Energy Efficiency in Nepal (BEEN) Project aims to establish a robust baseline of Building-MSMEs across Nepal to better understand their market share in delivering energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) services and products. By generating comprehensive market data, the project seeks to identify strategic interventions that can enhance the competitiveness of these enterprises and expand their market penetration. The baseline study also provides essential qualitative and quantitative benchmarks for monitoring and reporting project performance.
SWN carried out a baseline study to assess the market share of Building-MSMEs engaged in the EE and RE service/product delivery in Bagmati, Lumbini, and Gandaki Provinces of Nepal. The targeted Building-MSMEs include architects, designers, real estate developers, builders, contractors, door/window fabricators, brick/block manufacturers, HVAC designers/installers, insulation material suppliers, and RE suppliers/installers.
Objective of the Assignment
The objectives of the assignment were to:
- Estimate the number of Building-MSMEs operating across the three provinces.
- Assess the number and proportion of Building-MSMEs delivering EE and RE services in sustainable building design and construction.
- Estimate the number and proportion of Building-MSMEs involved in producing or selling EE- and RE-related products.
- Estimate the annual number of buildings constructed—both registered and non-registered—in the 60 partner municipalities of the BEEN Project during the past year.
- Estimate the number of end users potentially reached by Building-MSMEs for raising awareness on EE and RE integration in building design and construction.
Key Activities and Services Provided by SWN
To deliver on the assignment objectives, SWN and the team carried out the following activities:
- Engaged government agencies, federations, associations, and MSMEs to collect data on Building-MSMEs.
- Mapped 4,425 MSMEs across seven categories (Design, Construction, Brick/Block, Door & Window, Insulation, RE, HVAC).
- Conducted telephonic interviews, online surveys, and physical meetings in three provinces.
- Surveyed 224 MSMEs using structured questionnaires and checklists.
- Performed quantitative (descriptive/statistical) and qualitative (thematic) data analysis.
- Assessed integration of RE/EE services, finding low uptake across most MSME categories.
- Analysed municipal data showing 177,756 houses built in 56 municipalities (2017–2022).
- Estimated annual end-user reach for each MSME type (e.g., CSEB MSMEs: 483 users/year; Door & Window: 339).
- Conducted field visits revealing geographic concentration of MSMEs in Bagmati/Kathmandu Valley.
- Identified key challenges: low awareness of RE/EE products and limited MSME capacity to integrate RE/EE components.
- Highlighted the need for awareness campaigns, capacity building, and promotion of sustainable practices.
Outputs
The baseline study established a comprehensive overview of Building-MSMEs in Nepal, providing clear insights into their market share in delivering energy-efficient (EE) and renewable energy (RE) products and services. It also identified strategic pathways to enhance the competitiveness of these MSMEs, supporting their potential for increased market penetration in the EE and RE sectors.
