Turnup for Good

We've identified 3 key end-user challenges we are looking to solve with your fund - lack of access to accessible travel packages, lack of a local and sustainable AT travel ecosystem, and lack of affordable and appropriate transport solutions for people with disabilities and a booking platform for that accessible experiences.

Muthuri Kinyamu is a trained marketer and the co-founder of Turnup.Travel which started off as a tour operator for new age travellers specifically offering themed experiences for millennials, we also produce visual travel media and an adventure vlog series called Turnup in Motion that casts the spotlight on the lesser-known destinations and drive impact in the community to tackle today's realities for a better future through Turnup for Good. 

He sees travel as an enabler to connect people to their true self through discovery and that every business should think about what impact it brings in society besides the pursuit of profit for founders and shareholders. Muthuri spent the last 8 years building startups, events and managing relations for early and growth-stage companies setting up or expanding into or across the continent. 

Before launching Turnup.Travel, Muthuri was part of a Kenya Tourism Board domestic marketing campaign dubbed The Great Migration as a team leader and ambassador. He joined Nest.vc Africa journey since Day 1 in 2015, building an Asian Venture Brand and community from scratch into the continent leading one it is now. Metta is now synonymous with startups and tech entrepreneurship in Kenya and Africa because of his leadership in branding and managing its public image. 

Turnup.Travel was borne of the idea that travel should be accessible to everyone four years ago. Turnup.Travel has been at the forefront of disrupting tourism in Kenya by offering new-age travellers bespoke experiences to transform dreams into beautiful memories. Last year, 2020, we started building Turnup Rides which is a GDS-based online booking management system for ground transportation where customers can hire a vehicle or book a seat for a transfer or an entire experience. We want to connect people to places, help our customers find seats to join others for the same experience/ route thus making travel affordable and accessible to all. We want to destigmatize travel for PLWDs and showcase Kenya as an accessible destination

We've identified 3 key end-user challenges we are looking to solve with our fund - lack of access, lack of a local and sustainable AT ecosystem, and lack of affordable and appropriate solutions. How does the problem you are solving for users align with one or multiple of these categories?

There is currently no tour operator or car hire company with specially kitted safari vehicles due to the high cost of customization to suit PLWDs so our solution makes travel accessible to PLWDs.

We are building an African travel brand for themed travel experiences, storytelling, and social impact thus we contribute to the sustainability of AT ecosystem. We will work with travel trade, government and trade associations to ensure the private sector creates packages with the PLWDs in mind and thus giving a gateway for other innovators to serve the tourism industry with other AT solutions.

So by having a website www.turnuprides.com and specially designed vehicles available for hire to serve PLWds and driver guides who are trained to handle PLWds for their safety and dignity, then we can make it an affordable and appropriate solution but also a sustainable business.

The 2019 census in Kenya recorded 2.2 percent of the population above five years of age had a disability. Turnup.Travel will design accessible tours and use the grant to acquire and customize a Toyota Landcruiser and Mini Van that is adaptable to wheelchair users whilst developing the capacity for Turnup Rides driver guides to serve PLWDs. Develop content for an inclusive media campaign that showcases PLWDs in various destinations to create awareness. Other tour operators can book the vehicles.