“We were very much part of that initial movement of bringing government, social investors, and social providers together to find better outcomes to complex social challenges. ”
— Adam Swersky
In the pursuit of social change, every bit of investment can make a difference. Learn how Social Finance is leading the charge through social impact bonds.
Today, I’m interviewing Adam Swersky, CEO of Social Finance, the non-profit enterprise responsible for creating the world’s first social impact bond. He’s here to explain everything you need to know about social impact bonds and has been at the forefront of designing solutions that bring together finance with social impact since he joined the organization in 2014.
Born in South Africa and having moved to the UK, Adam developed a keen interest in finance and politics from a young age thanks to his father, a tax lawyer. After studying economics at Cambridge, he became a project leader at the Boston Consulting Group, where he advised private, public, and not-for-profit organizations on strategy and transformation. During his time there, he was seconded to the Clinton Health Access Initiative in West Africa to support Niger in accessing a subsidy for malaria medication.
Now, as CEO of Social Finance, Adam shares how this organization, which predates the term “impact investing,” leads the effort of designing solutions to solve social challenges beyond mere investment. He also details how they have broadened beyond investment to involve data collection and analysis, philanthropy, building new ventures, government advisory, and beyond.
From the mechanics of how social impact bonds function to several real-life examples of social bonds at work, this episode delivers a comprehensive look into social impact financing.
We also touch on the capabilities and limitations of private capital in addressing social challenges, and Adam’s insights on leading an impact-focused business and carving out a career in the realm of social impact.
This conversation is a deeper exploration of how social impact bonds serve as a partnership between social investors, governments, and providers to design solutions to social challenges.
Feeling intrigued? Listen now to learn how Adam and Social Finance are pioneering the path for impactful investing.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
- Connect with Adam Swersky: LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Medium
- Social Finance
SHOW NOTES:
[00:00] Episode introduction
[01:51] Adam Swersky’s background and start at Boston Consulting Group
[16:55] An overview of Social Finance: How they began & what they do
[29:00] How Social Finance produces transformative social impact
[34:47] A look into the world’s first social impact bond for Peterborough inmates
[44:38] The Mental Health and Employment Partnership Program
[49:26] A detailed look into the workings of social bonds
[56:46] Measuring outcomes and managing risks for social impact bonds
[01:06:46] The evolution of social impact bonds
[01:18:42] Adam’s thoughts on leadership & rapid fire questions
MORE ADAM SWERSKY QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW:
“Finance can play a really important role, but it’s not going to be the silver bullet. You need quite a lot of things to be in place for whole systems to change and really unlock solutions to social problems at scale.”
— Adam Swersky
“We’re involved in all the design work in the business cases and the evidence gathering, but we also stick with programs through implementation to make sure the outcomes are coming through in the end. ”
— Adam Swersky
