Do entrepreneurship ecosystems help senior new ventures?

Population aging is a major demographic challenge in many regions, including Latin America, where rising old-age dependency ratios make older adults’ continued economic participation increasingly important. Entrepreneurship offers seniors a pathway to remain economically active, yet emerging markets often lack the institutional conditions needed to support venture creation among this group. Drawing on institutional theory and the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (EE) framework, which emphasizes the formal and informal institutions that support entrepreneurial activity, this study examines how systemic EE components relate to senior entrepreneurship. We combine the Index of Dynamic Entrepreneurship (IDE) for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico with Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) individual-level data, comprising 15,019 observations of individuals aged 50 and above from 2013 to 2017. Using multilevel logistic regression, we analyze the probability of being an entrepreneur as a function of ten IDE components. Results show that entrepreneurial attitudes, cultural support, supportive social environments, and perceived entrepreneurial skills significantly increase seniors’ likelihood of starting new ventures. These findings extend EE theory to senior entrepreneurs in emerging markets and offer policy guidance for targeted training, mentorship, and knowledge support.