Kenya’s BuuPass secures fresh investment from Yango Ventures

BuuPass, a Kenyan-based startup that digitises intercity travel bookings, has secured a fresh investment from Yango Ventures, a corporate venture fund of Yango Group. While the deal size remains undisclosed, the capital will support BuuPass’s efforts to scale its infrastructure and deepen its footprint across African markets.

The deal comes one year after BuuPass acquired Quickbus, its Nigeria and South Africa-based competitor, in 2024. That acquisition gave BuuPass access to key markets and partnerships across critical travel routes, further accelerating its pan-African reach. BuuPass will use this fresh funding to strengthen its infrastructure backbone and accelerate platform growth across Africa’s travel corridors.

“We’re building the infrastructure that makes modern travel work across Africa. Every new route, every operator, every integration strengthens the network,” said Sonia Kabra, co-CEO at BuuPass. “Yango Ventures got that from day one. They’re the kind of partner who leans in with insight, not just capital, and that makes all the difference when you’re building something this ambitious.”

The startup has raised $2.94 million over four rounds in total funding. Its last fundraising in 2023 was a $1.3 million pre-seed round with participation from investors like Founders Factory Africa, FrontEnd Ventures, Adaverse, and several angel investors.

Launched in 2016, BuuPass allows people to book intercity travel tickets for buses, trains, and flights through its proprietary software and APIs. The platform offers seamless inventory management, bookings, payments, and reporting across both online and offline environments. BuuPass currently operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa with over 150 transport operators across bus, train, and flight verticals.

In 2024 alone, BuuPass sold over 20 million tickets and processed over $70 million in transactions, an indication that the company is building something sticky. Yango Ventures’ interest signals confidence in BuuPass’ vision to become the API layer for and strengthen the network of intercity travel across the continent.

Buupass competes with UgaBus, and Bus54 on the continent, but says its edge lies in its multi-vertical coverage and deep infrastructure. BuuPass aims to be the go-to infrastructure for intercity travel in Africa.

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