Like many young adults in Africa who go abroad for schooling, Abdulrasaq (Dulra) Amolegbe ’26 found that he needed to conduct most transactions in cash. As a student at the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Nigerianborn Amolegbe often had conversations with his peers about the high barriers to accessing electronic banking, which resulted in not only inconvenience but also safety issues. When he was still in high school, Amolegbe founded Dot, a fintech startup to provide financial solutions to international students from Africa who faced the cash-only challenge. Now a sophomore, he has drawn on the resources available through Lehigh Business to refine and develop the Dot app. In the spring of 2023, he was awarded the Joan F. & John M. Thalheimer ’55 EUREKA! Award for student Achievement in venture creation and the Thalheimer Grand Prize of $5,000. He is the first freshman to receive either award, and the first to receive them together at the same time. BEST OF BOTH WORLDS As a young entrepreneur in the early stages of a startup, Amolegbe faced the dilemma of whether to pursue his venture or set it aside to follow his academic ambitions. At Lehigh, he found he was able to choose both. “Lehigh is where I believe I’m meant to be,” Amolegbe says. He feels this way, he explains, “because of the seamless integration between academics and entrepreneurship.” The app is currently in a private launch phase, being tested by international students, mainly in South Africa. Amolegbe plans to launch publicly in late 2023. Amolegbe credits much of his recent progress on the app to the support he received through the Baker Institute. For example, he frequently participates in the institute’s monthly pitch nights, winning each of the six times he’s pitched. He also received grants and office space through the Lehigh Ventures Lab, which launched in 2022 to provide entrepreneurial support to students and recent alumni as well as full-time founders. FALL 2023 29 BUSINESS.LEHIGH.EDU Meet Student- Founder Dulra Amolegbe ’26 “Dot� gives students in Africa cashless experience. BY SUZI MORALES COURTESY STARTUP ACADEMY COURTESY BECCA WEISSMAN At the onset of COVID-19, Becca Weissman ’25 balked at the idea of not doing anything. With her business suit on and résumé in hand, she walked into every insurance firm, real estate office and bank near her Oceanside, NY, home, looking for a job. What started as an internship at real estate company Engel & Völkers ended with a part-time role as broker assistant. This summer, she will complete her New York State real estate certification. At Lehigh, Weissman is on a pre-law track, with a major in management and a concentration in consulting, a minor in real estate and sustainable development. Weissman brings her passion for operational thinking to all her pursuits. She is the president of Lehigh’s TAMID chapter. TAMID is a nonprofit organization in which 84 students engage with Israeli entrepreneurs. Weissman is the philanthropy chair of Gamma Phi Beta, and is involved in Women in Business, a professional development organization. This semester she is interning with Tesatura Capital, a company that invests in affordable housing. Weissman says she identified Lehigh as the right business program for her because of its emphasis on corporate responsibility. “There are so many lenses through which to see a business: social, economic, sustainable, etc.,” Weissman says. “I’m always looking for the best way to utilize business to make a positive impact on communities.” Down the line, Weissman sees herself going to law school. For now, she says she just wants to keep her range of possibilities wide open. Becca Weissman ’25 Has a Passion for Operational Thinking She can’t seem to sit still. BY LAYLA WARSHAW “TONS OF OPPORTUNITIES” “The university has redefined a lot of my assumptions about being in school and also running a startup,” Amolegbe says. “The institution has given me tons of opportunities and they’ve built an incredible ecosystem that simplifies the process of working both as a full-time student and an entrepreneur.” When he arrived on campus, Amolegbe says he had many ideas for developing the app. Working with mentors at Lehigh has helped him to find his focus and clearer direction. For now, Dot’s target customers are South African students. Eventually, Amolegbe hopes others with electronic banking challenges will be able to use the app. “I want to see Dot used by millions of students on the African continent, but I also want to expand to the immigrant population—immigrant workers, asylum seekers—and to other countries beyond South Africa,” Amolegbe says. “My hope is that by the time I graduate, Dot will be a household name for the immigrant population within the African continent.”
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