Clea takes on the payment problems facing African importers

Importing a car from the United States involves more than finding the right vehicle and placing a bid. The buyer also has to get money to the auction house, often from thousands of kilometres away. For Nigerian entrepreneur Sheriff Adedokun, this became a business problem worth solving. When he started importing vehicles in 2022, he struggled to pay US auction platforms using Nigerian fintech services. Some transfers were rejected, while bank payments involved paperwork and limits on international transfers.

The auction houses also had strict payment rules. Money had to come directly from the registered buyer, meaning payments from another person or business could be turned down. Adedokun eventually started Autoclear in 2024 to help customers source vehicles and make payments to US auction platforms. But his work with importers exposed a bigger problem. The auction payment was only one of several international transactions involved in bringing goods into Nigeria.

Importers also had to settle bills with shipping companies, freight forwarders and brokers. Each payment came with its own requirements. That experience led him to start Clea with his longtime friend Sidney Egwuatu. The Nigerian fintech company launched publicly in December 2025, offering businesses a platform to pay suppliers in other countries.

Beyond vehicle imports

Clea allows businesses to fund an account in naira, convert the money into a foreign currency and send it to an overseas supplier. The platform supports US dollars, British pounds, euros and Chinese yuan. Depending on the destination, payments can move through ACH, Fedwire, Real-Time Payments or the SWIFT network.

Stablecoins are also used in the company's settlement process. Customers can fund their dollar wallets with USDT or USDC through supported blockchain networks.

Adedokun says the company uses stablecoins to move money between parts of its payment infrastructure. Customers do not need to interact with cryptocurrency to make a normal supplier payment. This puts Clea among a growing number of African fintech businesses using stablecoins to handle international transactions. Flutterwave has explored USDC settlement, while Onafriq has partnered with Conduit to use USDC for cross-border payments. For Clea, however, the main customer is not someone looking to buy or trade cryptocurrency. It is a business that needs to pay an overseas supplier without running into payment delays or rejected transfers.

Supplier details become part of the product

Clea's August launch of Vendor Payments followed another issue the company noticed among its customers: businesses were repeatedly paying the same suppliers. The feature allows customers to select an existing supplier from a list instead of entering banking details for every transaction. They still have to include the correct payment reference, such as a buyer number or vehicle lot number.

The service currently covers selected US suppliers, including vehicle auction companies Copart and IAA. For vehicle importers making regular purchases, incorrect account details or missing references can cause problems when money needs to be matched to a particular order.

Clea wants to make that part of the process less complicated. The company has also moved beyond vehicle imports. Its customer base includes wholesalers, manufacturers, electronics distributors, fashion businesses and machinery importers. Adedokun said the company initially placed more emphasis on foreign exchange access and payment speed. Working with customers showed that supplier verification, payment records and reconciliation were just as important.

A competitive market, but a specific customer

Clea says it has processed more than $50 million in payments since launching. It earns revenue through transaction fees and the margin on the foreign exchange rates offered to customers. The business competes with Verto, Raenest and Grey, which also provide international payment services and multi-currency accounts.

The difference Clea wants to establish is its focus on businesses importing goods. Rather than competing only on the ability to send money abroad, it is building services around the payments importers make to auction houses, shipping companies and other suppliers. That focus also means pricing will matter. Businesses moving large amounts of money pay close attention to exchange rates and transaction charges, and small differences can affect their costs.

Clea is not rushing into other African markets. Adedokun says the company intends to concentrate on Nigeria, expand its supplier network and improve the efficiency of its payment infrastructure. The immediate challenge is getting more importers and other trading businesses to use the platform regularly, while competing against established fintech companies offering similar international payment services. For Clea, the opportunity is in a part of international trade that businesses deal with every day: paying the people who supply their goods.