Major infrastructure projects often capture attention for their scale and visibility: new towers reshaping city skylines or water systems transforming access to essential services. But behind these tangible outcomes lies a less visible, yet critical enabler: effective risk sharing.
Following a recent reinsurers’ mission to Côte d’Ivoire organized by The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), we spoke with Piergiorgio D’Ignazio, Global Product Leader, Credit and Political Risk at PartnerRe, about how reinsurance supports development in emerging markets.
Emerging economies like Côte d’Ivoire face significant infrastructure needs – from energy and water systems to transport and urban development – as they pursue economic growth and improved living standards.
At the same time, these projects come with substantial risks. Investors and lenders must consider political uncertainty, project execution risk, and exposure to natural catastrophes. Local insurance markets also have capacity constraints, limiting how much risk can be retained domestically.
As a result, there is a persistent financing gap. Global estimates run in the trillions per year to meet development goals.[1] Public funding alone is not sufficient to meet development needs,[2] and private capital often requires additional risk mitigation before committing to large-scale investments.
Reinsurance plays a critical role in enabling insurance markets to support large and complex projects.
In simple terms, it allows insurers to transfer part of their exposure to a broader, global pool of capital. This increases their capacity to underwrite risks that would otherwise be too large or too concentrated. In doing so, it helps enable outcomes aligned with environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities in emerging markets.
For infrastructure projects, this is essential. No single insurer would typically be able to cover a major development, such as a high-rise commercial tower or a large-scale water treatment facility, on its own. By distributing risk across multiple players, reinsurance makes it possible to provide the coverage needed to move projects forward.
By ceding (transferring) portions of risk to global reinsurers, primary insurers can free up both capital and confidence. This unlocks coverage that might not otherwise be available and allows projects to proceed. Multilateral institutions have long recognized this leverage effect, using reinsurance to extend guarantees supporting large-scale projects, and to attract global investments into developing markets.
In this sense, reinsurance acts as a true force multiplier – spreading risk across a global network rather than concentrating it in one place. It provides reassurance that, if something goes wrong, there is a broader pool of resources to absorb the impact.
It is, in many ways, the invisible scaffolding that supports the project behind the visible structures on site. It may sit behind the scenes, but without it, many large-scale developments would struggle to secure the insurance and financing required to move ahead.
The impact is tangible and goes well beyond the initial project.
Infrastructure investment is a powerful job creator and a key social development driver. Studies suggest that even a 1% GDP increase in infrastructure spending can generate over 7 million jobs globally,[3] with particularly strong effects in areas such as water, sanitation and construction in developing economies.
But the impact extends further. Economic activity builds around these projects – from engineers and material suppliers to local businesses supporting construction and operations. Over time, new infrastructure connects people to opportunities and improves livelihoods.[4]
The benefits are especially clear in essential services. A water treatment facility, for example, does more than create jobs during construction. It provides communities with reliable access to clean water, supporting both public health and environmental sustainability, reducing time spent sourcing water, and enabling broader economic participation.
Similarly, major commercial or urban developments can become hubs for business, trade and public services, strengthening a city’s competitiveness and attractiveness for investment.
Crucially, these projects also enhance resilience. With robust insurance and reinsurance in place, infrastructure can recover more quickly from unexpected events, supported by the financial stability that risk transfer provides.
By enabling projects in areas such as energy and water, effective risk sharing supports not only economic growth but also broader development and sustainability goals.
The mission provided a clear illustration of how these dynamics come together in practice.
Site visits to projects such as the Tour F development and the La Mé water treatment facility offered direct insight into how risk mitigation supports implementation and delivery.
These projects are highly visible symbols of progress. What is less visible – but equally important – is the ecosystem of insurers, reinsurers and development partners working behind the scenes to enable them.
The experience reinforced a key point: risk sharing is not just a financial mechanism. It is a catalyst for development.
Infrastructure projects may be defined by what is visible – buildings, roads, energy systems – but their success often depends on what is not.
Reinsurance is part of that unseen foundation. By enabling risk to be shared across a global network, it allows projects to move forward with greater confidence and scale.
In doing so, it helps transform uncertainty into opportunity – supporting job creation, economic growth and improved quality of life.
This is ultimately a story of partnership: one in which insurers, reinsurers and stakeholders work together to turn ambitious plans into tangible outcomes on the ground.
PartnerRe helps insurers and financial institutions support infrastructure development in emerging markets by enabling effective risk sharing across complex projects. Drawing on our expertise in credit and political risk, we provide strong, sustainable capacity and continuity. We invite you to reach out to us.
Contributor
Piergiorgio D’Ignazio, Global Product Leader, Credit and Political Risk, PartnerRe
References
[1] https://investmentpolicy.unctad.org/publications/1309/derisking-investment-for-the-sdgs-the-role-of-political-risk-insurance
[2] https://www.whitecase.com/insight-alert/2025-unctad-report-highlights-political-risk-insurance-derisking-international
[3] https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/08/government-spending-infrastrucure-jobs/
[4] https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/infrastructure/overview