Three early UK social impact bonds have been successful in paying back investors ahead of schedule. Two of the three SIBs, Career Connect and Teens & Toddlers, were backed by member CDVC fund Bridges Ventures and have been recommissioned for a second round.
Andrew Levitt, investment director at Bridges Ventures and a board member for the UK-based Career Connect SIB, said: “The Career Connect story provides demonstrable proof that the excitement around social impact bonds isn’t just a case of hype over substance. The structure of the funding allowed Career Connect to experiment with new approaches, while the clear feedback loops inherent to the SIB model helped them to identify the most effective and focus their programme to reflect that. With a standard contract, none of this could have happened.”