Research & Advocacy

The Olderpreneur Alliance was launched as a result of ground-breaking research carried out by founder Isabella Moore into aspects of later-life entrepreneurship.

This research informs and guides the work we do to raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges facing older people as they consider and embark on entrepreneurship. It also forms a bedrock of the work we do lobbying governments and other organisations for more appropriate, targeted, and accessible forms of business support.

Research

Isabella’s doctoral research at Aston Business School focused on the gendered aspects of entrepreneurship in later life. Findings included:

The value placed on the age capital of older women is often perceived to be less than that of older men.
There are commonalities between genders as well as differences in terms of approach to later-life entrepreneurship.
There are distinctive triggers for men considering setting up in business in later life around concerns about health and wellbeing.
Older women dominate with necessity-driven motivations associated with inadequate retirement income.
Women in later life outperform men in terms of attitudes to risk, confidence in the transferability of skills and experience, and of resilience and perseverance.
There is a lack of acceptance of older women as business owners.
Older women perceive they are not taken seriously by business networks and business organisations.

A summary of this report can be downloaded HERE

Awareness

The Olderpreneur Alliance actively seeks opportunities to raise the profile of entrepreneurship as a viable option for later life, and to increase understanding of the unique challenges facing older entrepreneurs.

Examples of our recent work include:

The launch of our initial research findings in October 2017 at a Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce (CWCC) Women in Business event (see Interim Report (?))
A widely reported seminar held, in conjunction with CWCC, with speakers and audience drawn from older women in business or considering option and business practitioners.
Publication of results of a small-scale survey in February 2020, which validated research findings.
Presentation to the Women in Enterprise Cross Party Group, Scottish Parliament.
Book chapter written for publication (Palgrave Macmillan): Engines of Economic Prosperity.

Please contact us at hello@olderpreneuralliance.com for any media, speaker or promotional opportunities.

Advocacy

The Olderpreneurship Alliance seeks to lobby and advise policy makers to encourage the development of policies which support individuals into entrepreneurship in later life.

We work with business support organisations to help them develop and deliver targeted support programmes for individuals considering entrepreneurship in later life, and with financial institutions to encourage the introduction of innovative financing packages for older entrepreneurs.

Working with media and other channels, we seek to encourage more positive role models of older people considering venture creation in later life, without recourse to stereotypical age or gender attitudes.