Kenya’s digital travel platform BuuPass has been announced as one of the Top 10 global finalists in the Startup World Cup 2025 Grand Finale, set to take place on October 17 in San Francisco, California. The company will represent Africa at the competition, standing alongside leading startups from the United States, Japan, Israel, Spain, Taiwan and other parts of the world, for a chance to win a $1 million investment prize.
The Startup World Cup, powered by Pegasus Tech Ventures, is one of the world’s largest startup competitions. It brings together the best emerging companies from over 100 regional contests across six continents, offering them an opportunity to pitch to global investors, venture capitalists and technology leaders. This year’s Grand Finale will be held at the Hilton Union Square in San Francisco, drawing the global startup community together for a celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship.
For BuuPass, this recognition is more than just a competition, it is a major milestone in its journey to revolutionize intercity travel across Africa. Founded in 2016 by a group of young entrepreneurs, BuuPass was created to make travel simpler, more transparent and accessible for everyone. Through its platform and proprietary APIs, users can book bus, train and flight tickets with ease, while transport operators can efficiently manage inventory, bookings, payments and reporting.
The platform has already transformed how millions of Kenyans travel. By digitizing public transport systems that were traditionally cash-based and fragmented, BuuPass has introduced structure, reliability and convenience to a sector that affects millions daily. The startup currently partners with over 150 transport operators and operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa, positioning itself as one of Africa’s leading mobility technology companies.
BuuPass has also demonstrated impressive growth and resilience. In 2024 alone, the company sold over 20 million tickets and processed more than $70 million in transactions across its platforms. This growth reflects a strong product-market fit and the growing appetite for digital mobility solutions in Africa’s expanding urban centers.
The company’s roots trace back to the 2016 Hult Prize Challenge, a global competition for student entrepreneurs aimed at finding scalable solutions to pressing global issues. The BuuPass founders, then university students, responded to that year’s theme, connecting people to goods, services and resources, with a simple idea to digitize bus ticketing. Their concept, then called Magic Bus Ticketing, won the global prize presented by President Bill Clinton, marking the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey.
Over the years, the team has stayed true to its mission of turning Africa’s fragmented transport systems into an engine for growth and inclusion. Their work supports not only travelers but also hundreds of small and medium transport operators, helping them formalize operations and access digital tools that increase efficiency and revenue. By creating this digital ecosystem, BuuPass continues to connect people to jobs, educatio, and opportunities, making mobility a driver for social and economic progress.
As the only African startup in this year’s top 10 finalists, BuuPass is set to represent the continent’s growing innovation ecosystem on the global stage. The other nine finalists include MacroCycle from the USA, Happy Robot from Spain, Coreshell from East Bay, FaceHeart from Taiwan, Vital Audio from New York, Scentian Bio from New Zealand, Go To-U from Los Angeles, Acompany from Japan and Intuition Robotics from Israel.
The Grand Finale of the Startup World Cup 2025 will determine who takes home the $1 million investment prize but for BuuPass, its impact is already clear. Its journey from a student-led idea to a continental mobility leader shows the potential of African innovation to solve real problems and create lasting change. As BuuPass heads to San Francisco, it carries with it not just the hopes of Kenya’s tech ecosystem but the promise of a more connected Africa.
