Clea Cuts Supplier Payment Rejections from 60% to Near-Zero with HIFI
About Clea
Clea is a cross-border payments platform that lets Nigerian businesses pay international suppliers in dollars while funding in naira. Customers experience a USD account in their own business name; underneath, payments settle on stablecoin rails.
Sheriff Adedokun and Sidney Egwuatu founded Clea in 2025 out of their own experience importing goods into Nigeria.
The challenge
Clea launched into the auto import sector first. More than 200,000 used vehicles enter Nigeria each year, most bought at auction in the United States, and the dealers buying them were underserved by Nigerian fintechs.
Auction export platforms, like those used by Clea’s customers, will not accept a payment that arrives in someone else's name. The platforms require that wires come from an account held in the exact name on the buyer's profile, and warns that a mismatch can delay payment, get future wires rejected, or forfeit the vehicle entirely.
Nigerian importers struggle to meet that condition. So importers pay another way: buying dollars from third-party brokers, or turning to contacts who already hold dollars in the United States. This adds risk and friction to a situation where the importer has a legitimate order, has the funds, and still cannot complete the purchase.
"It shouldn't take that much effort for a legitimate business to pay a legitimate supplier."
— Sheriff Adedokun, CEO and co-founder, Clea
Beyond the need for named accounts, Clea also had to solve a less obvious challenge: verifying legitimate importers in a market where traditional business verification signals are not always available.
Many Nigerian auto dealers operate established, high-volume businesses primarily through physical dealerships, referrals, auctions and offline networks, often without a formal website. Proof-of-address documentation can also differ from what is common in other markets, with utility bills frequently issued in the property owner’s name rather than the business tenant’s.
This meant Clea needed a verification approach that could maintain strong compliance standards while reflecting how legitimate businesses actually operate in its market.
The solution
Clea needed a provider that could cover the full flow: accounts in the customer's own name, fast settlement into the US and Europe, coverage for suppliers outside those corridors, and compliance verification that worked for Nigerian businesses.
"Our customers care about the speed of payments. They care about the stability of payments. They care about the assurance that payments are going out in their own name."
— Sheriff Adedokun, CEO and co-founder, Clea
Accounts in the importer's name
Every Clea customer gets a USD account in their own business name. When an importer pays a supplier in Baltimore, the wire arrives from an account matching their auction profile, so the platform applies it to the right lot instead of returning it.
Coverage for every corridor Clea sells into
Clea launched on the Nigeria to US corridor. It has since added China, India, Europe, and the UAE, with SWIFT reach to over 100 countries for suppliers outside the instant rails.
"The biggest impact is the infrastructure flexibility. With HIFI we've been able to expand our payment routes."
— Sheriff Adedokun, CEO and co-founder, Clea
Clea had been running separate partners per rail, which meant separate integrations and separate points of risk.
Verification built for the market
Many legitimate Nigerian importers do not fit neatly within conventional business verification frameworks, particularly around proof of business presence and address documentation. Working closely with HIFI’s compliance team, Clea identified alternative forms of evidence that reflected local business practices while continuing to meet HIFI’s compliance standards.
The verification process was adapted to account for how utility billing and business occupancy work locally. Clea also passes supporting customer invoices through the API with each payment, allowing transaction-level diligence to take place alongside the payment itself.
"The hardest 'no' usually comes from banking or infrastructure partners who see Africa, cross-border payments, and stablecoins in the same sentence and immediately assume the risk is too high. We are not trying to move anonymous funds. We are helping verified businesses pay verified suppliers, with documentation and audit trails."
— Sheriff Adedokun, CEO and co-founder, Clea
Results
Since launching in December 2025 the platform has processed over $30 million in cross-border volume.
Since building with HIFI, Clea has onboarded almost 100 importers and routes supplier payments across 5 corridors. Onboarding a new importer takes under a day, down from 2-3 days.
Supplier rejections have dropped sharply, from 60% to near-zero. Payments now arrive in the importer's own business name, so the failure mode that used to send them back, a payment arriving from an unrelated third party, is gone.
"With our previous provider we had issues onboarding businesses, especially in the auto industry. With HIFI, this problem is solved."
— Sheriff Adedokun, CEO and co-founder, Clea
Payouts to US suppliers can route over real-time payments, which lets an importer move from a stablecoin balance to a settled supplier invoice in minutes.
What's next
Clea is deepening its presence in Nigeria while expanding into other African markets, starting with Ghana. Both corridors run in the same direction: importers buying from suppliers who require payment in the buyer's own name, in markets where dollars are rationed.
The company is targeting $50 million in monthly volume over the next 12 months, across every corridor it serves.
"In the next 12 months, Clea should be known as the most trusted cross-border payment infrastructure for African importers."
— Sheriff Adedokun, CEO and co-founder, Clea
HIFI supports payouts to over 100 countries. As Clea adds markets, the corridors are already there.
FAQ
What is Clea?
Clea is a cross-border payments platform that lets Nigerian businesses pay international supplied in dollars while funding in naira. Customers hold a USD account in their business name, and payments settle on stablecoin rails underneath. Clea was founded in 2025 by Sheriff Adedokun and Sidney Egwuatu.
Why did Clea’s customers need accounts in their own name?
The auction export platforms that Clea’s customers buy from require wires to come from account that match the exact name on the buyer’s profile; any mismatches can delay payments, get future wires rejected, or entirely forfeit the auction item. Before Clea integrated with HIFI, Nigerian importers bought dollars from third-party brokers or through other contacts, in turn adding more risk to their otherwise legitimate purchases.
How does Clea use HIFI?
HIFI issues Clea customers a USD account in their own business name, so wires to suppliers arrive under the importer’s name rather than the third party broker’s. HIFI’s compliance team also worked with Clea to adapt verification for how Nigerian businesses document their proof of address and business presence. Clea passes customer invoices through HIFI’s API with each payment for transaction-level diligence.
What corridors does Clea sell into?
Clea initially launched on the Nigeria to US corridor and has added China, India, Europe, and the UAE, with SWIFT reach to 100+ countries for suppliers outside those corridors.
How fast do Clea’s supplier payments settle?
Clea’s importers can move from a stablecoin balance to a settled supplier invoice in minutes because payouts to US suppliers route over real-time payments.
How has HIFI helped Clea?
Since building with HIFI, Clea has onboarded almost 100 importers across five corridors. Onboarding new importers now takes under a day, and supplier rejections have dropped from 60% to nearly zero with HIFI’s support.
What is next for Clea and HIFI?
Clea is expanding into Ghana while deepening its Nigeria presence, targeting $50 million a month in volume across every corridor over the next year. As Clea adds new markets, HIFI is ready to support payouts with coverage around 100+ countries.
