Cross River & IMBA AI Business Plan Competition Winners

Bar-Ilan University’s International MBA (IMBA) program proudly hosted the Cross River & IMBA AI Business Plan Competition, an initiative designed to challenge students to develop innovative AI-driven Business Plans addressing real-world business opportunities and strategic challenges.

Throughout the competition, students worked in teams to build complete business concepts, combining market analysis, financial planning, strategic development, and AI implementation. The project provided participants with hands-on entrepreneurial experience while strengthening collaboration between academia and industry.

The competition included 9 participating teams, with 4 finalist teams selected to pitch their projects during the final event before a judging panel and audience.

The winning teams were awarded monetary prizes in recognition of their outstanding achievements:

🏆 First Place 

Team of second-year students: Daria Baklanova, Elena Kravtsova, Anastasia Lazareva, Alina Weitzer

🥈 Second Place

Team of first-year students: Yarnin Peled, Emmanuelle Bendenoun, Ifat Yaakobi

We also congratulate the finalist teams and all participants for their creativity, dedication, and professionalism throughout the competition.

The competition was organized with the support and guidance of Prof. Alon Raviv, Yevgeny Mugerman, Prof. Meny Abudy, and representatives from Cross River, including Avi Ifergan, VP of Strategic Initiatives, whose mentorship and expertise contributed greatly to the students’ experience.

The evening of the Cross River & IMBA AI Business Plan Pitch Event included finalist presentations, remarks from Bar-Ilan University and Cross River leadership, networking opportunities, and the announcement of the winning teams.

We thank Cross River for their partnership and continued support of innovation, entrepreneurship, and experiential learning opportunities for our students.