Developing Member Country (DMC)

A Developing Member Country (DMC) is any ADB member nation classified as developing under the bank's membership framework, making it eligible to borrow from ADB and act as the executing agency for ADB-financed projects where suppliers compete for procurement contracts.

What is a Developing Member Country (DMC)?

ADB's 69 member countries span both developed and developing economies. The DMC designation applies to the developing subset, which as of 2025 covers 46 countries across Asia and the Pacific, from large economies such as India, China, and Indonesia to small island states in the Pacific. DMCs are the borrowers that execute ADB loans and grants, and their governments act as the executing or implementing agencies that run the procurement processes that produce contracts for suppliers.

Understanding DMC status matters because ADB's procurement rules are designed to serve DMC governments as procuring entities, and the eligibility of suppliers to bid is linked to ADB membership. Most ADB procurement is open to firms from all ADB member countries, both DMCs and non-DMC developed members, meaning a European or Australian supplier can bid on an infrastructure contract in the Philippines or Vietnam. The country-partnership-strategy that ADB develops for each DMC shapes the sectoral priorities and project pipeline for that country over a multi-year horizon.

Why DMC matters for bidders

The DMC concept is the supplier's geographic entry point into ADB's project universe. Each DMC has an active pipeline of ADB-financed projects, and monitoring which countries have recently approved loans and grants is how suppliers identify where opportunities will emerge six to eighteen months later. The top five ADB borrowers by volume, India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, generate the largest procurement flows, but smaller DMCs in the Pacific and Central Asia present specialist opportunities in sectors such as rural infrastructure and climate adaptation. Suppliers targeting ADB work should map their capabilities against the DMC countries where ADB has the highest projected lending.

FAQ

Can suppliers from non-DMC countries bid on ADB-financed contracts?

Yes. ADB procurement is generally open to firms from all ADB member countries, including developed non-DMC members such as Japan, Australia, and most European countries. Eligibility specifics are stated in each procurement document.

Is China a DMC?

Yes. China is a DMC and both borrows from ADB and contributes to it as a non-borrowing member in some financing structures. Chinese firms can generally bid on ADB-financed projects across the region.

Where can suppliers find the list of current DMCs?

ADB publishes its full member country list on adb.org, where each country's borrowing status is indicated. The site also shows the active project pipeline by DMC, which is the practical starting point for building a country-level opportunity tracker.