JOHANNESBURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--One Thousand & One Voices, a movement of influential families investing relational, intellectual and patient financial capital – three-dimensional capital – to profitably accelerate prosperity in rising markets, today announced that Navaid Burney, Merafe Moloto and Michael Adiukwu have joined One Thousand & One Voices. Mr. Burney, Managing Director, and Ms. Moloto and Mr. Adiukwu, both Directors, will be based in the firm’s first Africa office in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“Our view is that there has never been such an auspicious time for investment in Africa as right now, as growth rates are among the highest in the world, democratic institutions are being strengthened, and a vibrant middle class is rapidly expanding”

One Thousand & One Voices was launched at the World Economic Forum on Africa in May 2013. Leading the founding families of the movement are Dr. John Coors and his family. Dr. Coors is Chief Executive Officer of CoorsTek, the world’s largest manufacturer of technical ceramics.

“At the heart of One Thousand & One Voices is influential families investing three-dimensional capital to help businesses grow, create jobs people can be proud of, and ultimately lift millions of people out of poverty,” said Hendrik Jordaan, President and Chief Executive Officer of One Thousand & One Voices. “Navaid, Merafe and Michael are truly a world-class team, as they each bring a profound understanding of the economic landscape of sub-Saharan Africa and the private equity experience necessary to help us to realize these objectives through investments that can generate both prosperity for people across Africa and financial returns for the families involved.”

Navaid Burney has more than 20 years of experience with private equity investing in Africa, most recently as Chief Operating Officer at Pangea Exploration (Pty) Limited in its joint venture with Denham Capital, where he led deal structuring and execution concluding transactions in DRC, Cote d’ Ivoire and Gabon. Previously, Mr. Burney served as Director and Head of Private Equity for Africa at Standard Bank of South Africa. Earlier in his career, Mr. Burney was Founding Partner and Managing Director at Emerging Capital Partners, where he ran the firm’s Johannesburg office, sourcing, transacting and monitoring investments in a number of high-growth sectors. He also served as General Manager of Investment Banking at First Merchant Bank of Zimbabwe and has held senior roles at companies such as the International Finance Corporation. A United States citizen, Mr. Burney earned his Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Merafe Moloto previously served as Managing Director at Motseng Investment Holdings and Senior Manager of Private Equity at Standard Bank of South Africa. Prior to those positions, she worked in the United States as an Associate in Merrill Lynch’s Private Equity Group and as a Financial Analyst in Goldman Sachs’ Investment Banking Division. A South African citizen, Ms. Moloto earned her Masters of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School.

Michael Adiukwu previously served as Investment Manager at the Standard Bank Group, first in the Private Equity division and later in the Leveraged & Acquisition Finance division. During this time he worked on several leveraged finance, mezzanine finance and private equity transactions across Africa. Prior to that, he worked in the United States as a Management Consultant at The Capital Markets Company, where he was involved in various buy-side projects, conducting due diligence, defining business strategies and developing business cases for investment decisions. Mr. Adiukwu also has prior banking experience with UBS Investment Bank, Merrill Lynch and the Central Bank of Nigeria. A Nigerian citizen, he earned his Masters of Business Administration degree from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester.

“Our view is that there has never been such an auspicious time for investment in Africa as right now, as growth rates are among the highest in the world, democratic institutions are being strengthened, and a vibrant middle class is rapidly expanding,” said Mr. Burney. “One Thousand & One Voices is well positioned to help build profitable, job-creating African businesses by deploying intellectual, relational and patient financial capital across the continent. Our model greatly differentiates One Thousand & One Voices from traditional private equity vehicles.”

For more information, contact Rick Keating, media contact, at rkeating@keatingco.com or +1-917-767-2400.

About One Thousand & One Voices

One Thousand & One Voices is a movement of influential families investing relational, intellectual and patient financial capital – three-dimensional capital – to profitably accelerate prosperity in rising markets. The movement’s families, including Dr. John Coors and his family, believe that the pathway to economic freedom—real prosperity for millions living in poverty—is through values-based private investment grounded in the time-tested principles of free enterprise. For more information please visit www.1K1V.com.