One Thousand & One Voices, a private equity fund started by the great grandson of the founder of USA-based Coors Brewing Company, said it’s opening a Johannesburg office after hiring three former Standard Bank Group employees.
Navaid Burney, who was chief operating officer at Pangea Exploration and previously head of Africa private equity for Standard Bank, will lead the Johannesburg team, USA, Denver-based One Thousand & One Voices said in a statement today.
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.
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.
While Standard Bank closed its private equity operations in 2011, Africa is attracting firms, including Carlyle Group and Actis, with faster economic growth rates than developed nations. – Bloomberg