Cleva YC Application
Cleva went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2024 batch as a Fintech company. Below: what the company does, who founded it, and its application to YC, reconstructed question by question in the real YC form.
- YC batch
- Winter 2024
- Industry
- Fintech
- Team size
- 30
- Status
- Active
- Launched
- 2024
Founders
Tolu AlabiFounder/CEO
Philip AbelFounder/CTO
What Cleva does
Cleva enables African freelancers and businesses to receive international payment for their service, while protecting themselves from local currency volatility. With a Cleva USD account, one can easily receive USD payment from anywhere in the world, spend via a card, pay bills, convert to local currency, and save in USD to hedge against local currency volatility.
Cleva's YC application, reconstructed
Y Combinator application
Cleva, Winter 2024 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.
- Founders2
- Company7
- Progress7
- Idea4
- Equity3
- Curious2
- Batch Preference1
Company
Cleva
USD banking platform for Africa
We built a USD account platform that lets African freelancers and businesses get paid in USD, spend with a card, pay bills, convert to local currency, and save USD to protect themselves from local currency volatility. It's designed specifically to flatten the pain of dealing with unstable local currencies while still accessing global payments.
We live in Lagos, Nigeria and the company is based here with a remote team spread out. We would stay here after YC but increase our remote presence globally.
We picked Lagos because that's where the problem hits hardest, and where we understand the payment and currency challenges firsthand. We can serve the largest emerging market in Africa from here and we have strong ties to the local fintech ecosystem.
21 more answers in the full application
Founders, Progress, Idea, Equity, Curious, Batch Preference are in the full version. Create a free account to open it in YC Insights, next to every other YC batch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the real Cleva YC application?
No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from Cleva's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like Cleva would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.
What YC batch was Cleva in?
Cleva was part of the Y Combinator Winter 2024 batch.
Who founded Cleva?
Cleva was founded by Tolu Alabi, Philip Abel.
What does Cleva do?
USD banking platform for Africa
How do I read the full reconstructed application?
Create a free Round Funded account. The full 26-answer version of Cleva's application, and every other YC batch, is in YC Insights.
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