Passionate and Nimble: Team Magic Bus and Buupass, 10 years later  

In 2016, four students from Earlham College’s Net Impact chapter found themselves visible on an international stage. Team Magic Bus brought their backgrounds from places all over the world and set their prodigious intellects to work on a major social entrepreneurship goal. 

After many months of preparation, Team Magic Bus created a business that aimed to double the income of 10 million people within only a few years through a bus ticketing platform that streamlined fragmented systems in particular transportation infrastructure areas within Africa. Their compelling concept and deep research for feasibility earned them the 2016 Hult Prize, recognition from former President Bill Clinton and other dignitaries, and $1 million in startup capital to go make their dream a reality. 

The 10 intervening years have been a study in many of the kinds of resilience, creativity, and passion that Earlham students, as well as UWC alumni, showcase. In 2026, two of the original Magic Bus team members, Sonia Kabra ‘16 and Wyclife Omondi ‘17, remain as executives and co-founders at Buupass, the company that grew out of the team. Kabra (pictured below), who returned to campus in 2024 to accept the Earlham College Young Alumni Award on behalf of her teammates, remembers seeds of the company being sewn at Earlham where she and Omondi would share meals together. 

“Wyclife and I would sit in the cafeteria for hours talking about why things did not work in the places we came from, his Kenya and my India, and whether technology might do anything about it,” Kabra says. “We both came out of United World College, him in Singapore and me in Hong Kong, so we already had the habit of comparing countries rather than assuming your own is the default.” 

While the other team members, Iman Cooper ‘15 and Leslie Ossete ‘16, each moved on to other endeavors as opportunities arose over the years, the company itself is remarkably similar in its mission and vision to the early years: the ticketing platform aims to find places where they can benefit both transportation operators and passengers. 

“At Buupass, our vision is clear: enable seamless movement for people and goods across Africa so they can live a life without borders,” says Kabra in a recent LinkedIn post after being named one of CIO Africa’s Top 45 Women in Digital Transformation. 

 “We’re building the digital infrastructure to connect millions and unlock new economic possibilities across the continent.” 

What this specifically looks like has changed since the early pilot projects that the team carried out. They first envisioned streamlining the booking process for matatus, a particular type of mini-bus travel popular in Kenya, to help customers have guaranteed seats and bus operators to have guaranteed income.  

However, they realized that there were other places in the transportation system where a ticketing platform could make a bigger impact, namely for intracity travel. This cornerstone part of their business has expanded to also include trains, flights, and more. 

Over the years, the team has encountered challenges and met them by pivoting the business as needed. For instance, their business relationships and customer uptake really grew in 2019, right before the global pandemic dramatically impacted demand for bus travel. Instead of letting the company falter, they found a way to use their team and resources to book and ship freight instead of people.  

More recently, they’ve found productive places to invest in partnerships, new offshoots of their core brand, and acquisitions to grow their consumer base. Buupass’s new corporate travel arm, Gavan Pass, targets a totally different customer base. The acquisition of Quickbus and Justgo has allowed them to expand their reach within South Africa and Nigeria. 

Gene Hambrick, who previously served as senior executive director of Earlham’s Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Creativity and is now a Professor of Practice in Business and an Executive in Residence, remembers the hard work and long nights that the Team Magic Bus group put in preparing for the Hult Prize, and he’s not shocked that the seeds of those early ideas are still part of the successful, growing business that Buupass has become. When Hambrick thinks of them, he thinks of popular business management author Patrick Lencioni’s work.

“This team fits Lecioni’s definition of an ideal team player: humble, hungry, and smart,” Hambrick said. “They always put the team first, wantedto compete, and were academically and intellectually curious curious. They are passionate about life.”  

Editor’s note: Story written by Laura Leavitt.

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About Earlham College 

Earlham College and Earlham School of Religion foster a collaborative learning community that inspires and motivates students with opportunities and experiences so they can become catalysts for good in a changing world. Located in Richmond, Indiana, Earlham is one of U.S. News & World Report’s Top 100 national liberal arts colleges and offers one of the top 20 classroom experiences in the nation, according to the Princeton Review.