Cleva, a Nigerian fintech startup, has successfully secured $1.5 million in pre-seed funding to enhance international payments infrastructure across Africa.
The $1.5 million pre-seed funding for Cleva was spearheaded by 1984 Venture, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm specializing in supporting early-stage startups. The funding round also saw participation from various investors, including:
- FirstCheck Africa
- Y Combinator
- The Raba Partnership, and
- Byld Ventures
The startup, founded in 2023 by Tolu Alabi (CEO) and Philip Abel (CTO), was established to provide individuals and companies in Africa with US-based accounts, facilitating the receipt of U.S. dollars.
Cleva has a range of upcoming products in development, including USD cards and savings in U.S. assets, as part of its strategy to diversify revenue streams. Additionally, the company plans to launch a campaign targeting the African diaspora.
Cleva anticipates the upcoming products will empower users to send USD internationally and generate professional invoices. This move positions Cleva in a competitive remittance market that already features platforms such as:
- Flutterwave’s Send
- Chipper Cash
- LemFi
- Afriex
New entrants such as Payd, a Kenyan fintech startup that provides a payment platform catering to freelancers and creatives, are also trying to solve the problem of money reception from abroad particularly for freelancers and remote workers.
According to Cleva, it has facilitated payments exceeding $1 million monthly for thousands of users within the first four months of its introduction in Nigeria. The company approximates the market value for handling payments for freelancers and remote workers in Africa at $18 billion.
Alabi stated that the company intends to tackle challenges related to international payments in Latin America, Asia, and Canada. However, due to their familiarity with the African market, they opted to initiate their efforts there. She expresses confidence in their ability to address this issue globally, citing their experience as a key factor.
The startup collects a 0.9% fee on deposits into clients’ USD accounts, distinguishing itself by instituting a fee cap of $20. This sets it apart from competitors who often apply an uncapped 1% fee regardless of the received amount.
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