Sonia Kabra’s journey to building BuuPass, one of East Africa’s leading digital mobility platforms, was anything but straightforward. Yet for Kabra, the winding road to entrepreneurship was exactly what prepared her to tackle one of the region’s most persistent transportation challenges: making bus travel easier, more transparent, and accessible through technology.
Before co-founding BuuPass, Kabra built a diverse career that spanned consulting, finance, and operations across several global companies. She worked with firms such as McKinsey & Company, where she gained experience solving complex business problems and understanding how systems operate at scale. These experiences gave her a deep appreciation for how data, logistics, and customer behavior intersect in large markets.
However, the idea that would eventually become BuuPass did not emerge from a single moment of inspiration. Instead, it developed gradually as Kabra observed how fragmented and inefficient public transportation systems were in many African cities. Long queues at bus stations, unpredictable ticket pricing, and limited information about available routes often made travel stressful for passengers.
Recognizing this gap, Kabra co-founded BuuPass in 2016 alongside co-founder and CEO Andrew Osisanya. The startup set out to digitize bus travel across Africa by building a platform that allows passengers to search routes, compare prices, and book tickets online. By partnering with transport operators, BuuPass aimed to modernize the ticketing process while helping bus companies improve efficiency and reach more customers.
At the time, the idea faced skepticism. Much of the transportation sector in East Africa was still heavily dependent on offline systems, and many operators were hesitant to adopt digital tools. Convincing bus companies to integrate with a new platform required patience, persistence, and extensive relationship-building.
Kabra’s background in consulting proved valuable during these early stages. She approached the challenge by focusing on collaboration rather than disruption. Instead of trying to replace existing operators, BuuPass worked to support them by providing technology that simplified ticket sales, reduced operational bottlenecks, and improved customer visibility.
Over time, the model began to gain traction. Today, BuuPass connects thousands of passengers with transport operators through its platform, enabling digital ticket purchases via mobile phones and online platforms. The company has also expanded beyond bus travel, integrating train bookings and other mobility services to create a more comprehensive travel marketplace.
BuuPass’s growth reflects a broader trend across Africa’s mobility sector, where startups are using technology to address long-standing infrastructure challenges. By digitizing previously manual systems, these platforms are helping travelers save time while giving transport companies new tools to manage demand and operations.
For Kabra, the success of BuuPass reinforces the value of the unconventional path she took before becoming a founder. The years spent in different industries, learning how organizations function and how markets evolve, provided the foundation she needed to navigate the uncertainties of building a startup.
Looking back, Kabra says she has no regrets about taking the longer route to entrepreneurship. Instead, she views those experiences as essential stepping stones that helped shape BuuPass into the platform it is today—one focused on making travel across Africa simpler, more reliable, and more accessible for millions of passengers.
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