Definition: Debt-for-development swap

External debt - IMF

Financing part of a development project through the exchange of a foreign-currency-denominated debt for local currency, typically at a substantial discount. The process normally involves a foreign nongovernmental organization (NGO) that purchases the debt from the original creditor at a substantial discount using its own foreign currency resources, and then resells it to the debtor country government for the local currency equivalent (resulting in a further discount). The NGO in turn spends the money on a development project, previously agreed upon with the debtor country government.