One Thousand & One Voices, a movement of wealthy and influential families which launched at the World Economic Forum on Africa in May this year, has today unveiled its first Africa office.

Navaid Burney, Merafe Moloto and Michael Adiukwu have been recruited as a private equity team in Johannesburg and will advise the movement's investment committee on sub-Saharan strategy.

One Thousand & One Voices, or 1K1V, invests relational, intellectual and “patient” financial capital in developing markets. The group consists of families who are able to contribute – on a long time scale - significant capital and influence by leveraging their network of connections, reputation and intellectual and financial resources.

Burney, a managing director, has over 20 years of experience with private equity investing in Africa, having most recently served as chief operating officer at Pangea Exploration in its joint venture with Denham Capital.

Previously, he was director and head of private equity for Africa at Standard Bank of South Africa. Earlier, he was founding partner and managing director at Emerging Capital Partners, where he ran the firm’s Johannesburg office.

Moloto, a director, was latterly 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 US as an associate within Merrill Lynch’s private equity group and as a financial analyst in Goldman Sachs’ investment banking division.

Adiukwu, also a director, previously served as investment manager at the Standard Bank Group - first in the private equity division and later in the leveraged and acquisition finance division.   

Prior to that, Adiukwu worked in the US as a management consultant at The Capital Markets Company. He has also spent time at UBS Investment Bank, Merrill Lynch and the Central Bank of Nigeria. 

“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,” Burney said.  

As previously reported, 1K1V began by deploying $300 million in capital in sub-Saharan Africa, but plans to expand its to Latin America, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe.  

Leading the founding families of the movement are Dr John Coors, chief executive of CoorsTek - a manufacturer of technical ceramics - and his family.

“One Thousand & One Voices was established with the belief 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,” Dr Coors said previously.