We are proud to announce that Mohammed Bendaanane, our colleague and doctoral candidate from the first round of SEED funding (2020–2024), has been awarded the G. Dale Meyer Iconoclast Award for Best Paper at the 2025 Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC). The award, presented by Babson College and the G. Dale Meyer Iconoclast Fund, honors the best paper with a doctoral student as lead author at the conference — a remarkable recognition of Mohammed’s contribution to advancing entrepreneurship research.

His paper, “Afraid of Their Own Shadow? Unpacking the Link Between Entrepreneurs’ Intersectional Social Categorization and Their Perceptions of Crime in an Informal Economy Context,” explores how entrepreneurs’ social identities and perceptions of risk shape their engagement in informal economies.

This achievement not only highlights Mohammed’s individual excellence but also demonstrates the lasting impact of SEED-funded research in fostering new knowledge at the intersection of entrepreneurship and societal challenges.

We would also like to recognize Mohammed’s co-authors, Prof. Siddharth Vedula (Technical University of Munich and Miami University) and Prof. Robert Nason (McGill University), whose collaboration contributed to this outstanding work.

Congratulations, Mohammed, on this well-deserved honor! 🎉