Cleva, a Nigerian fintech startup focused on simplifying international payments for Africans, has secured $1.5 million in pre-seed funding. The round, led by early-stage venture capital firm 1984 Ventures, will enable Cleva to expand its platform, offering individuals and businesses across Africa easy access to USD accounts for receiving international payments.
"The team is uniquely qualified to address this challenge given their experience building banking products at Stripe and robust platforms at AWS," said Aaron Michael, a partner at 1984 Ventures. "The impressive early growth is a testament to the team's unique capacity to execute across Africa and the U.S."
Cleva's founders, Tolu Alabi and Philip Abel, identified the persistent difficulties Africans face in receiving international payments for their work and services. They estimate the market for facilitating payments for remote workers and freelancers in Africa to be an $18 billion opportunity.
"The problem that we're trying to solve is not just a Nigerian or African one," explained Alabi. "People in Latin America, Asia, and even Canada need to receive dollars for their work. We're starting with Nigeria because we know the market, but we feel like because of our backgrounds, we're very well positioned to solve this problem at a global scale."
Launched in August 2023, Cleva has already onboarded thousands of Nigerian users, processing over $1 million in monthly payments. Their USD accounts require only a Bank Verification Number (BVN) and government-issued ID for registration.
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