LinkedIn · Jul 2026
Cleva announced its U.S. launch and said users can send money to naira accounts in Nigeria with zero fees, better rates, and minute-level settlement.
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Updated Jul 29, 2026
Overview
Cleva is a fintech platform for Africans and other non-U.S. residents that provides USD accounts to receive, hold, save, and spend dollars, with support for payments from clients and platforms like Upwork, Deel, and Amazon.
Primary product
USD banking platform / USD account for receiving, holding, saving, and spending USD
Founded
2023
Headquarters
548 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94104, United States
Team size
100-150
Work style
Flexible
Industry
Financial Services
Sub-industry
Fintech / digital banking / cross-border payments
Offices
San Francisco, California, United States
Lagos, Nigeria
Nigeria
United States
India
United Kingdom
Business model
deposit fees
foreign exchange spread
payment/service fees
Funding
Stage
Pre-seed
Total raised
$1.5M
Latest round
Pre-seed · Jan 2024
Latest amount
$1.5M
Jan 2024 · 1984 Ventures
People & investors
Leadership
Co-founder & CEO
Co-founder & CTO
Damilola Ehinmitan
Client Experience Partner
Oluwatosin Fasoro-Joseph
Head of Operations
Rose Nkechi
Head of Compliance
Omidire Ifeoluwa
Campus Ambassador, Campus Lead RUN
Work & culture
Public hiring language emphasizes customer-centricity, a bias for action, collaboration, integrity, direct communication, grit, and proactive execution.
Work style
Flexible
Compensation
Publicly advertised compensation signal is a competitive salary; no salary bands or detailed comp structure were found.
Benefits
competitive salary
health insurance
pension
hybrid/remote work flexibility
paid time off
company holidays
career growth and development opportunities
Product & market
Pricing
Freemium/transaction-fee model with fees on some deposits and FX-related transactions; some flows are free, including Upwork deposits and local transfers.
Differentiators
- —USD accounts in the user's name for non-U.S. residents
- —fee cap of $20 on applicable deposit fees
- —free Upwork deposits
- —virtual USD card plus USD saving features
- —built for Africans/remote workers and businesses
- —registered MSB and operates through licensed U.S. financial partners
Technology
Flutter
Dart
GitHub Actions
Fastlane
Codemagic
Docker
Grafana
AWS Lambda
Amazon Redshift
Kubernetes
PostgreSQL
RDS
SQS
SNS
Python
TypeScript
React
JavaScript
Tailwind
GitHub
Customers
remote workers in Africa
freelancers
creators
professionals in Africa
Africans in the diaspora
African SMEs
African startups
businesses receiving international payments
Competitors
Geegpay
Payday
LemFi
Afriex
Flutterwave Send
Chipper Cash
Grey Finance
Elevate (formerly Bloom)
Scale & contact
Latest news
Cleva Blog · Mar 2026
Cleva launched an influencer program and said it uses Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, X, and Facebook as primary platforms.
Cleva Blog · Aug 2025
Cleva said it was founded on August 14, 2023, by Philip Adama Abel and Tolu Alabi, had served over 500,000 customers in Nigeria, obtained an IMTO license, and planned expansion into Ghana, Uganda, and South Africa.
Cleva Blog · Oct 2024
Cleva said it was named to CB Insights' 2024 Fintech 100 list in the Banking category and noted participation in Mastercard's Start Path In Solidarity program.
TechCrunch · Jan 2024
TechCrunch reported Cleva's $1.5M pre-seed round led by 1984 Ventures with participation from Y Combinator, The Raba Partnership, Byld Ventures, FirstCheck Africa, and angels.
Jobs and careers at Cleva
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