Investment secured by BuuPass, a Kenyan company, from Yango Ventures' $20 million fund focused on Africa.
In a significant move for the African tech industry, mobility startup BuuPass has secured a strategic investment from Yango Ventures' $20 million Africa-focused fund. The partnership between the two companies could lead to deeper integration into Yango's ride-hailing, logistics, and software operations.
Based in Kenya, BuuPass is a digital mobility platform that enables users to book intercity travel, including buses, trains, flights, and parcel delivery services, through a unified, online interface. The platform streamlines travel planning by allowing users to enter their travel dates, view available routes and pricing, select their preferred option, and pay using various methods to receive SMS tickets.
BuuPass also provides transport operators with back-office tools for managing inventory, payments, and fleet logistics, effectively digitizing a traditionally informal and fragmented sector. To reach as many customers as possible, BuuPass processes transactions via APIs, mobile apps, USSD, and offline sales agents, ensuring accessibility even for users without smartphones or consistent internet access.
The company currently operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa, integrating over 150 transport providers into its network. By 2024, BuuPass had processed over $70 million in bookings and sold more than 20 million tickets.
Yango Ventures, a sector-focused venture capital firm, offers startups access to proven business models, global infrastructure, and experienced operators, beyond just capital. The investment in BuuPass aligns with Yango's mission to become the unified API that powers how Africa moves.
As Africa's diversity requires adaptable strategies, solutions that work in one market may not work in another. Infrastructure players streamlining access to transport, payments, and logistics are in high demand as African startups tackle the challenges of scale and informality.
The investment is one of the first deployments from Yango Ventures' newly launched $20 million fund, which prioritizes Sub-Saharan Africa and focuses on online-to-offline platforms, B2B SaaS solutions, and fintech ventures. Yango Group CEO Daniil Shuleyko stated that Yango Ventures is more than a tech company, it is an ecosystem committed to empowering entrepreneurs worldwide.
The competition for Africa's most promising startups is intensifying due to international capital flowing into the continent. This investment in BuuPass could be well-timed as it signals investors taking Africa's innovators seriously, one step at a time.
BuuPass was founded in 2016 by Sonia Kabra and Wyclife Omondi. The company's acquisition of South Africa's QuickBus last year helped consolidate its footprint in key African travel corridors. With the investment from Yango Ventures, BuuPass is poised to expand its operations and continue its mission to build the infrastructure that makes modern, efficient, and inclusive travel and logistics work across Africa.
- The strategic investment from Yango Ventures could propel BuuPass's expansion, aiming to build technology-driven innovation in travel and logistics across the world.
- The partnership between BuuPass and Yango Ventures could lead to a unified, continent-wide technology platform for Africa's mobility, ride-hailing, and logistics operations.
- As more international investors recognize the potential of African startups, this investment in BuuPass signifies a growing commitment to supporting technology businesses driving change in Africa's informal and fragmented sectors.
