This move brings together two key players in the African travel booking industry. BuuPass, backed by Founders Factory Africa and FrontEnd Ventures, asserts over 6 million tickets sold and $100 million in total sales since its launch in 2016. 

The company focuses on national and cross-border routes in East and Southern Africa, serving over 16 million passengers.

QuickBus, established in Kenya, 2017 and having raised over $1 million in funding, brings its established presence in Nigeria and South Africa to the table. This acquisition grants BuuPass access to new markets and potential customers, pushing its active monthly users to 650,000.

The acquisition aims to simplify the user experience. QuickBus’ developers and product managers will join BuuPass, facilitating a smooth integration process. Additionally, QuickBus’s South African head of operations will join BuuPass’s management team.

BuuPass plans to leverage QuickBus’ existing integrations with major distribution channels in Nigeria and South Africa. This includes platforms like Vodaphone’s VodaPay app, allowing BuuPass to reach millions of potential customers through established payment methods.

The combined entity will offer a wider range of travel options. While BuuPass currently focuses on bus bookings, the company plans to integrate train and flight options, building upon offerings previously limited in the Kenyan market. 

Users can expect access to international routes across 16 African countries, with major routes like Johannesburg to Cape Town becoming available immediately and more options promised by the end of the second quarter.

The details of the cash and stock deal remain undisclosed by both companies.

BuuPass will invest in growth activities as the fund aids its market share increase in East Africa, with a focus on Kenya and Uganda. The company will also leverage the fund to expand its team including growth and technology experts who will focus on building systems for scale as BuuPass plans to become a pan-African infrastructure for long distance transportation.

Investors in the pre-seed round were Founders Factory Africa, FrontEnd Ventures, Adaverse, Gullit, Five35, Renew Capital, Changecom, XA Network, Ajim Capital, Artha Ventures, Daba Finance, Google Black Founders Fund, and several angel investors.

Founded by Sonia Kabra and Wycliffe Omondi in 2016, BuuPass is a B2B2C full-stack marketplace that provides a bus management system (BMS) for operators to manage operations, inventory and sales. With this, they can manage their fleets and businesses better, gain access to data they can use to draw insights from, and reduce cash leakages, while increasing their sales from online bookings. It also connects them to its marketplace, where passengers search, compare and book their tickets using different channels, including websites, apps, and USSD codes.

The company affirms processing about 12,000 transactions per day across its booking channels, and has recorded over 9 million ticket sales so far. Its Gross Merchandise Value was slightly over $30 million in 2022. Supporting a total fleet size of 1,200 vehicles from over 25 bus companies, including one of the oldest, Easy Coach, BuuPass enables travelers book flight and train tickets, incorporating convenience and affordability in the system.