From Jalgaon to Nairobi: How Sonia Kabra Helped Digitise East Africa’s Bus Travel With BuuPass

From a modest town in western India to the nerve centre of East Africa’s startup ecosystem, Sonia Kabra has followed a path few could have predicted. Today, she co-leads BuuPass, a Nairobi-based company that transformed how travellers book long-distance bus tickets by moving operators from paper ledgers to digital systems.

Inside the company’s offices along Ngong’ Road in Nairobi’s fast-changing Kilimani district, Kabra reflects on a journey that began far from the bustling bus terminals her company now helps modernise. Soft-spoken but energetic, she recalls growing up in Jalgaon, India, where entrepreneurship was woven into everyday life. Both her parents ran businesses, and the idea of building something of your own felt normal rather than extraordinary.

Academically driven, Kabra thrived in school and often found herself in leadership roles, including serving as Head Girl. A scholarship to the United World College in Hong Kong later exposed her to a classroom filled with students from nearly 80 countries, broadening her worldview and revealing striking similarities between young people from developing economies.

Despite eventually studying biochemistry at Earlham College in the United States, Kabra’s interests gradually shifted toward entrepreneurship. Noticing that her campus lacked a startup club, she helped launch one. It was there that she met Kenyan student Wycliffe Omondi, whose background mirrored her own in unexpected ways.

Their shared experiences sparked conversations about transportation challenges in Africa, particularly the inefficiencies of buying bus tickets. Together, they moved to Nairobi and founded BuuPass, building technology designed to digitise bookings and help transport companies modernise operations across the region.

Years later, the company processes tens of thousands of travel transactions daily – an outcome Kabra says began with a simple idea and a willingness to experiment.