One Thousand & One Voices, a private-equity fund started by John Coors, the great-grandson of the founder of Coors Brewing Co., said it’s opening a Johannesburg office after hiring three former Standard Bank Group Ltd. employees.
Navaid Burney, who was chief operating officer at Pangea Exploration (Pty) Ltd. and previously head of Africa private equity for Standard Bank, will lead the Johannesburg team, Denver-based One Thousand & One Voices said in a statement Thursday. Merafe Moloto, managing director at Motseng Investment Holdings, and Michael Adiukwu, of Standard Bank’s leveraged and acquisition finance unit, will be directors of the fund.
“A lot of private-equity funds end up as roadkill because the teams are assembled for the wrong reasons — this one was handpicked,” Hendrik Jordaan, president and chief executive of One Thousand & One Voices, said in an interview.
One Thousand & One Voices has raised more than $100 million of the $300 million targeted for the fund, which will invest in the fastest-growing nations on the continent, including Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania and Nigeria.
