Nigeria’s cross-border trade ecosystem will receiving a significant boost with the official launch of Clea, a blockchain-powered payment platform designed to help African importers pay international suppliers in US dollars while settling locally in naira.
The startup, co-founded by a trio of Sheriff Adedokun, Iyiola Osuagwu, and Sidney Egwuatu, is positioning itself as a solution to one of the most persistent challenges facing Nigerian businesses involved in global trade, which is unreliable, delayed, and opaque international payments.
By combining local currency payments with fast, transparent USD settlements, Clea aims to eliminate banking bottlenecks, reduce fraud risks, and restore trust between African importers and their overseas partners.
During its pilot phase alone, the platform processed more than US$4 million in cross-border transactions, underscoring strong early demand from businesses navigating complex global payment systems.
As Sheriff Adedokun, CEO and co-founder of Clea, noted, “Importers face unnecessary stress when payments are delayed or rejected. Clea eliminates that uncertainty by offering reliable, secure, and traceable payments completed in the importer’s own name, strengthening supplier confidence from day one.”
What You Should Know About Clea
Clea is a blockchain-enabled payment platform built specifically for African importers who struggle to access reliable dollar settlements.
Rather than forcing businesses to source scarce foreign exchange or endure slow international bank transfers, Clea allows importers to pay in their local currency while ensuring suppliers receive funds in US dollars.
The platform offers instant, same-day, or next-day settlement options, giving businesses much-needed speed and predictability.
At its core, Clea leverages blockchain technology to make transactions transparent and traceable, ensuring that both importers and suppliers can verify payments without ambiguity.
According to Iyiola Osuagwu, co-founder and CTO, the vision is simple but ambitious as he said, “Our goal is to make global trade feel as seamless as a local transfer.”
The Pain Points in Cross-Border Trade, and How Clea Is Addressing Them
For years, Nigerian and African importers have battled a familiar set of challenges, ranging from delayed bank transfers, rejected payments, limited access to dollars, to persistent trust issues with foreign suppliers.
These problems often result in lost business opportunities, strained supplier relationships, and higher operating costs. Clea directly targets these pain points by offering a payment system that is fast, reliable, and transparent.
By completing transactions in the importer’s own name and providing full traceability, the platform reduces fraud risk and reassures international suppliers.
Osuagwu explained that by “connecting local currencies to global transactions through blockchain technology, we are removing long-standing barriers that have limited African importers for years.”
Early Traction that Speaks Strong Market Demand
Clea’s early performance suggests that the problem it is solving is both urgent and widespread. During its pilot phase, the startup processed over US$4 million in cross-border transactions, a clear signal of market appetite for alternative payment rails.
The platform currently serves Nigerian importers trading with suppliers in key global markets such as the United States, China, and the UAE, with plans to expand into additional trade corridors.
This early traction not only validates Clea’s product but also highlights the scale of unmet demand for efficient international payment solutions across Africa.
Building Credibility and Market Confidence
Trust is a critical currency in international trade, and Clea is working to build credibility across the value chain. The company is already collaborating with shipping operators who refer merchants to the platform, while also engaging trade associations and logistics networks in major import hubs.
These partnerships strengthen Clea’s position within the broader trade ecosystem and help embed the platform into existing supply chains.
Importantly, Clea remains fully bootstrapped, showing disciplined growth and strong founder conviction, while remaining open to strategic investors aligned with its long-term mission of building a trusted global payment network for African businesses.
Scaling Infrastructure for Africa’s Trade Future
Looking ahead, Clea’s ambitions extend well beyond its initial launch markets. The startup plans to expand operations across all 36 Nigerian states, deepen partnerships, and open new payout routes across Africa and beyond.
As Sidney Egwuatu, co-founder and COO, rightly noted, “The next phase for us is scale. We are expanding across all 36 Nigerian states, strengthening partnerships, and opening new payout routes across Africa and beyond.”
This focus on scale reflects Clea’s broader objective of building dependable financial infrastructure that can support sustained importer growth.
Why This Matters for National Economic Growth
Clea’s emergence is particularly significant for Nigeria’s economy, where imports play a critical role in manufacturing, retail, and industrial supply chains.
By reducing payment friction, improving access to dollar settlements, and strengthening trust with international suppliers, Clea can help businesses operate more efficiently and competitively.
Faster and more reliable trade payments translate into smoother supply chains, lower costs, and improved business confidence, key ingredients for economic growth.
As Nigeria and other African economies seek to deepen their participation in global trade, platforms like Clea represent more than fintech innovation; they are foundational infrastructure for economic resilience and expansion in an increasingly interconnected world.
Talking Points
While Clea’s launch addresses a genuine and long-standing pain point for Nigerian and African importers, its long-term impact will hinge on execution rather than promise.
The platform’s ability to enable local-currency payments with fast USD settlements directly confronts structural weaknesses in Africa’s cross-border banking system, and its early US$4 million pilot volume suggests real demand.
However, scaling such a model raises critical questions around regulatory compliance, FX sourcing, liquidity management, and resilience under high transaction volumes, particularly in a tightly regulated and volatile Nigerian financial environment.
Dependence on blockchain for transparency and trust is compelling, but trust at scale will also be shaped by uptime reliability, dispute resolution, and the platform’s ability to integrate smoothly with banks, logistics players, and regulators.
Moreover, while Clea’s bootstrapped status shows discipline, it may limit the speed at which it can expand trade corridors and defend its niche against better-capitalised fintech competitors.
Nevertheless, Clea’s success will be determined by whether it can evolve from a promising payment workaround into a robust, regulator-trusted financial infrastructure that consistently delivers speed, liquidity, and confidence for African importers operating in global markets.
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