Startups with senior talent in Spain, intergenerational meeting points and AgeTech: towards entrepreneurship and active aging

There is a significant demographic trend of ageing populations, particularly in the wealthier Western nations. This trend is putting increased pressure on governments and caregivers to provide affordable support for a form of aging in place that enables older people to lead dignified, meaningful, and engaged lives for as long as possible.

Particularly in this time of COVID-19, when access, distancing, infection control, and healthcare have become top concerns, digital solutions can offer this vulnerable group ways to improve their safety, autonomy, and resilience.

A flood of technology products and services has appeared to cater to this emerging market and meet government demands to keep the elderly in their own homes, which is the preferred location for many seniors.

An older professional knows their sector of activity perfectly and has a great deal of experience. In addition, they can provide a network of essential contacts for the business (customers, suppliers, collaborators, partners) that can lead to greater business success.

Seasoned entrepreneurs add value to younger teams due to their knowledge and criteria, and are a valuable asset in mentoring processes, as can be seen in the numerous support programs for young entrepreneurs currently in existence.

Business projects promoted by senior entrepreneurs often provide solutions to the needs of the elderly. This type of project falls within the field of social innovation, according to the report Senior Entrepreneurship: The Unrevealed Driver for Social Innovation, also generating a positive impact on society. This report points out that from a political and economic perspective, senior entrepreneurship is the answer to the consequences of an aging population in Europe. In fact, the OECD promotes senior entrepreneurship through the creation of a favourable environment and framework for this type of activity.

Seniors are active in self-employment

Older people are active in self-employment and the proportion of older people who are self-employed increases with age, according to the Eurostat Labour Force Survey covering the self-employed and data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor on early-stage or ideation-stage start-ups, published in The Missing Entrepreneurs 2021. Policies for inclusive entrepreneurship and self-employment.

In 2020, older people (50-64 years old) were more likely to be self-employed than the general adult population (15-64 years old) in the European Union (18% vs. 14% of adults). The proportion of older people who are self-employed increases to 39% for people aged 65-69 and 52% for people aged 70-74 (in 2020).

Seniors who are self-employed are slightly more likely to have employees than the general average. In the EU, a third of older self-employed had at least one employee in 2020, compared to 29% of all self-employed. In some countries, such as Germany, about half of the self-employed elderly had employees. “It will be important for lawmakers to look at ways to keep these businesses and jobs as these seniors look to retire,” the study notes.

Older people were more likely to report that they started their business out of “necessity.” Around a quarter of new senior entrepreneurs in the EU started their business between 2016 and 2020 because they were unable to secure a job, relative to about 18% of the total population (18-64 years). While some seniors start businesses due to insufficient savings, research also shows that many are looking to stay active and maintain social connections.

Neither the “fear of failure” nor the perceived lack of entrepreneurial skills are barriers to entrepreneurship

Barriers to entrepreneurship for seniors often include health concerns, the opportunity cost of time, and the shorter timeline for growing a sustainable business are greater barriers for seniors than younger entrepreneurs. Neither “fear of failure” nor a perceived lack of entrepreneurial skills appears to be disproportionate barriers to entrepreneurship for older people.

Once up and running, businesses run by new senior entrepreneurs follow many of the same business strategies as younger entrepreneurs. For example, they were equally likely to report the introduction of new products and services, as well as export, between 2016 and 2020.

Entrepreneurship and active aging policies

Entrepreneurship can play a role in active aging policy. There is a growing population of healthy older people with the skills, financial resources, and time available to contribute to economic activity by extending their working lives, including through entrepreneurship.

Research shows that entrepreneurship can increase the health and well-being of older people relative to inactivity. Policymakers can do more to tap into this pool of potential entrepreneurs by raising awareness of business start-ups and self-employment, providing training to fill knowledge and skills gaps, and ensuring that tax and social security systems contain no disincentives to entrepreneurship for older people. including investment in other businesses.

In general, entrepreneurship policies and programs for older people are poorly developed in the EU. Relative to other inclusive entrepreneurship target groups, there are few tailored entrepreneurship programs for older people. Most of the schemes in the EU are small-scale and run by local governments or non-governmental organisations.

AgeTech, digital technologies for the well-being of the elderly and helping their caregivers

AgeTech refers to digital, computer and mechanical technologies that aim to prolong the physical functionality and well-being of older adults and to help their caregivers. There are AgeTech and Digital Health solutions that provide solutions in the following fields:

*Translated by Daniel Rodríguez