Sustainable finance

Private Flows

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Definition

Private flows are a category in OECD DAC development finance statistics covering transactions at market terms between private actors and developing countries: foreign direct investment, international bank lending, bond purchases and private export credits. Unlike ODA or Other Official Flows, they involve no official development purpose or concessional element, and are reported separately to distinguish commercial finance from aid.

References

Source organisationSupporting reference

This reference provides supporting context for how “Private Flows” is defined and used.

www.oecd.orgBulk import source

Source imported for editorial provenance.

Overview

How it is used

The category appears in DAC statistical reports and in analysis of the financing landscape for the SDGs, where the composition of flows — concessional, official non-concessional, private, domestic — determines policy options.

Why it matters

Separating private flows from aid keeps development finance statistics honest and frames the central challenge: attracting stable, development-aligned private capital to the countries that need it most.