After studying at prestigious American universities, two Nigerian tech entrepreneurs have embarked on a mission to solve the global challenge of receiving international payments. They decided to start this venture in their home country, Nigeria.

Cleva, a fintech solution developed by a Nigerian startup, enables individuals and businesses to receive international payments in US dollars directly into a US-based account. 

Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, Cleva was founded in 2023 by Philip Abel and Tolu Alabi. In January 2024, it secured $1.5 million to fund the project's development and commercial offering. The fintech was also selected for the Winter 2024 cohort of the California-based accelerator Y Combinator.

Discussing Cleva's services, co-founder Tolu Alabi explained: "The problem that we're trying to solve, which is enabling people to receive international payments, is not a Nigerian problem nor an African one. It's a global problem; people in Latin America, Asia and even Canada need to receive dollars for their work and service."

Cleva has launched a mobile app available on both iOS and Android, which has already been downloaded over 10,000 times according to Play Store data. Users can create an account using their email address and must provide identification to verify their account. Currently, the solution is targeted at Nigerians. "We're starting with Nigeria because we know the market and it's also a big market," added Tolu Alabi.

Beyond receiving international payments, Cleva allows users to convert US dollars into local currency and conduct transactions with local bank accounts. The fintech also offers virtual US dollar bank cards to facilitate commercial transactions. "We feel like because of our backgrounds, we're very well positioned to solve this problem at a global scale," concluded Tolu Alabi.

Adoni Conrad Quenum