Cleva

About

Cleva breaks down financial borders across the globe by enabling remote workers, individuals, and businesses to hold stablecoin-backed dollars. Specifically, we enable our customers: 1. Receive USD, GBP, EUR payments: Individuals and businesses can receive USD, GBP, and EUR payments into their virtual account. 2. Receive and send stablecoins: They can also receive USDT or USDC, and make global payments via USDT and USDC. 3. Hold funds in USD: They can choose to hold their funds in USD instead of converting to local currency. In high inflation countries, this is extremely desirable as it helps our customers hedge against inflation until they're ready to spend in local currency. 4. Stablecoin-backed cards: We issue cards that are stablecoin-backed and accepted by 150M+ merchants across the globe. Users can fund in stablecoins or fiat, spend anywhere VISA is accepted, and earn cashback in the form of Cleva Points. 5. Savings: We recently launched Cleva Pots, allowing users to save towards their goals and earn yield on their savings. It's still very early days at Cleva. We've been hyper-focused on our home country Nigeria but we're now expanding to more countries across the globe.

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.

  LinkedIn ↗Twitter ↗
• 
  Philip Abel· Founder/CTO

  Philip has spent years building large-scale, multi-region infrastructure and services at industry leaders including AWS, Twilio, and Akamai Technologies. Originally from Nigeria, his journey took him from Kano to MIT and Georgia Tech, where he studied computer science. His story is one of resilience, curiosity, and a deep commitment to using technology to make a positive impact on the world. Outside of work, Philip is a lifelong FC Barcelona supporter and a devoted Lionel Messi fan.

  LinkedIn ↗

Product launches · 1 launch

• Cleva: USD banking platform for Africa ↗▲ 21Mar 4, 2024

  Helping businesses earn, save and invest in USD!

Change history · 17 recorded

1. October 4, 2026
   • Founder profile updated08:01 PM
   • YC partner updated08:01 PM
   • Launches refreshed08:01 PM
2. September 20, 2026
   • YC partner updated08:01 PM
   • Relocated to San Francisco08:01 PM
   • Country changed to US08:01 PM
   • Launches refreshed08:01 PM
   • Founder profile updated08:01 PM
3. August 31, 2026
   • Description rewritten07:00 PM
4. August 30, 2026
   • Pitch updated07:00 PM
   • Tags updated07:00 PM
   • Location updated07:00 PM
   • Regions updated07:00 PM
   • Description rewritten07:00 PM
5. June 7, 2026
   • Founder profile updated08:01 PM
   • Launches refreshed08:01 PM
   • YC partner updated08:01 PM