BuuPass Raises New Funding from Yango Ventures for Africa Expansion

Kenyan mobility startup BuuPass has received a strategic investment from Yango Ventures, a move expected to accelerate its efforts to digitize long-distance travel across the continent. The amount of the investment remains undisclosed.

The funding comes from Yango Group’s newly launched $20 million corporate venture fund, which targets startups in fast-growing markets, particularly in B2B SaaS, fintech, and online-to-offline (O2O) platforms.

BuuPass CEO Sonia Kabra welcomed the new partnership, stating, "Yango is a partner who leans in with insight, not just capital."

For Yango, the investment aligns with its broader strategy to support mobility infrastructure as a driver of inclusive growth. Yango Group CEO Daniil Shuleyko said, “We are more than just a tech company; we are an ecosystem committed to empowering entrepreneurs worldwide. Through Yango Ventures, we’re sharing our expertise and network to help startups scale, thrive, and drive meaningful change in their communities.”

BuuPass, founded in 2016 by Sonia Kabra and Wyclife Omondi, provides digital infrastructure that supports Africa’s fragmented intercity travel and logistics ecosystem. The platform allows consumers to book buses, trains, flights, and parcel delivery services. It also offers transport operators software tools for inventory management, payments, and fleet tracking. BuuPass integrates with the informal transport economy through APIs, mobile apps, USSD, and offline agents.

The company currently operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa. It partners with over 150 transport providers and processed bookings worth over $70 million in 2024, selling more than 20 million tickets that year. BuuPass expanded its regional footprint following the acquisition of QuickBus in South Africa in 2023, shortly after securing a $1.3 million pre-seed investment.