Babson Graduate Team Wins Somerville Social Impact Competition 

Listen

A team of Babson graduate students came out on top in a social impact competition in partnership with the City of Somerville and the Brazilian Community Heritage Foundation. Antar Jimenez ’22, MSBA’24, Geeth Devara MSBA’24, and Mahek Sandhu MSF’24 won first place in the Somerville SME Accelerator Program, beating out competitors from 11 universities from around the world, including Yale, UCLA, Hult International Business School, and Suffolk University.  

Each participating team provided solutions and created new offering ideas for a local Somerville business. The Babson team was paired with Yoshi’s, a local dining establishment in Somerville serving Japanese and Korean cuisine. 

The team of Babson Master of Science graduates earned the top spot for best solution to fix core, and best solution to grow more: 

  • Fix Core: Showcased the most scalable, user-friendly, and cost-effective technologies to enhance current business operations for the business throughout the program 
  • Grow More: Prepared the most actionable, high-impact, and cost-effective go-to-market action plans for the business throughout the program 

The competition, funded by the American Rescue Plan and powered by the IXL Center, aimed to strengthen underrepresented businesses in Somerville and revitalize plans for neighborhoods Magoun Square and Winter Hill. 

Brought together by a common interest in applying their skills in a real-world business context, the winning Babson team leveraged their entrepreneurial thinking skills and their extensive experience with real-world learning at Babson to earn first place. 

“The education we received was instrumental in equipping us with the necessary technical and soft skills to analyze business problems, develop unique strategic solutions, and work effectively under competitive conditions,” Sandhu said. 

As a result, the group provided Yoshi’s with several attainable strategies and solutions, including a comprehensive digital marketing strategy and the implementation of new operational tools, including an advanced reservation system and a new point-of-sale system to streamline restaurant operations. Their strategies were designed to enhance Yoshi’s customer service, expand their customer base, and ensure sustainable growth in the future. 

Posted in Babson Briefs

More from Babson Briefs »

Latest Stories

Public safety dog surrounded by students.
It’s All in the Name: Hero the Dog Brings Safety and Smiles to Babson Trained by the state police, Babson’s newest Public Safety dog comes with unique skills to boost campus safety and community engagement.
By
Hillary Chabot
Writer
Hillary Chabot
Hillary Chabot is a writer for Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. An award-winning journalist, she is known for her insightful reporting and dedication to detailed storytelling. With a career spanning over two decades, she has covered a wide range of topics, from presidential campaigns and government policy to neighborhood issues and investigative series. As a reporter for The Boston Herald, Hillary earned a reputation for tenacity and integrity. Her work at Babson College fuels her passions—to learn something new every day and conduct thoughtful, empathic interviews. She’s thrilled to be at Babson College, where students, faculty, staff members and classes provide compelling copy daily.
June 12, 2025

Posted in Community

Runners pose for a photo on a rainy day at Babson
The 10K for Babson: A Rainy Run and a New Fundraising Record  Those running and walking in the 10K for Babson faced soggy conditions, but the annual event raised the most money in its history for the Melissa Shaak Student Emergency Fund.
By
John Crawford
Senior Journalist
John Crawford
A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.
June 11, 2025

Posted in Community

Olivia Soffer and Matia Cristiani high-five on a tennis court
Take Two: Babson Tennis Champions Reflect on Winning Back-to-Back Titles Tennis champions Olivia Soffer ’25 and Matia Cristiani ’26 look back on their years playing together and all the hard work that went into winning two national doubles titles.
By
John Crawford
Senior Journalist
John Crawford
A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.
June 9, 2025

Posted in Community