Nigerian Fintech Cleva Raises $1.5M in Pre-Seed Funding

Nigerian fintech Cleva, specializing in providing a banking platform for African individuals and businesses to receive international payments through USD accounts, has secured $1.5 million in pre-seed funding. The funding round was spearheaded by 1984 Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm located in San Francisco. Additionally, The Raba Partnership, Byld Ventures, FirstCheck Africa, and several angel investors participated in the funding round.  Y Combinator also contributed to Cleva’s pre-seed round, as the fintech embarks on its participation in the accelerator’s winter 2024 batch this month.

Per TechCrunch, Cleva’s CEO, Tolu Alabi, highlighted the challenges Africans encounter in receiving international payments and emphasized the significant market opportunity estimated at $18 billion for facilitating payments for remote workers and freelancers in Africa. The founders, Alabi and Abel, emphasized their strong connection with the African market, leveraging their technical and product experience from roles at major tech companies.

Cleva's long term strategy includes evolving into a platform that issues APIs to distribute services across other African countries and globally.