Cleva

USD banking platform for Africa

Y CombinatorWinter 2024ActiveFintechFintechB2BRemote WorkEmerging Markets

What they do

Problem

African freelancers and businesses struggle to receive and hold international payments in USD and protect their earnings from local currency volatility.

Solution

Cleva provides a USD banking account platform that enables receiving global USD payments, spending via card, paying bills, converting to local currency, and saving in USD.

Who it's for

African freelancers and businesses who get paid by international clients and want to manage funds in USD.

Founders

Tolu Alabi

Founder/CEO

Tolu brings relevant experience from her time as a Lead Product Manager building Issuing and Banking products at Stripe. Prior to Stripe, she was a Senior PM at Amazon working on multiple products from Logistics to Augmented Reality. In addition, she has an MBA from Stanford GSB and a B.A in Computer Science and Mathematics from Grinnell College. Outside of work, she loves to play multiple sports (for now tennis and basketball). She's also a huge Lebron fan.

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Philip Abel

Founder/CTO

Philip has built multi-region infrastructure and services for years at industry giants such as AWS, Twilio, and Akamai Technologies. Originally from Nigeria, Philip's journey took him from Kano to MIT and Georgia Tech, where he studied computer science and engineering. His background is marked by resilience, and a commitment to making a positive impact in the world. He’s an FC Barcelona fan (soccer) and a big Lionel Messi fan.