Not only do Australian mature-aged entrepreneurs contribute $11.9 billion per annum to the Australian economy in over 379,000 businesses, they launch approximately 14,000 new businesses each year and actively contribute to fiscal, social, health, and active ageing outcomes in their communities. Thirty-four per cent of all young businesses in Australia are now led by mature-aged entrepreneurs, identifying mature-aged entrepreneurship as the fastest growing sector of entrepreneurship. This study is the first of its kind to examine mature-aged entrepreneurship in Australia using five pragmatic and embedded case-study examples. Aligning to Cartensen's sociomotional selection theory, we adopted an interpretivist philosphical framework of emergent enquiry action research. The paper includes benefits and challenges associated with mature-aged entrepreneurship, including contextual and theoretical foundations. We provide policy and research recommendations to enhance the development of a dedicated entrepreneurial ecosystem for mature-aged people.

澳大利亚成熟的企业家不仅为澳大利亚经济贡献了119亿澳元，拥有超过37.9万家企业，而且每年开设约14,000家新企业，并为社区的财政，社会，健康和积极的老龄化成果做出了积极贡献。现在，在澳大利亚所有年轻企业中，有34％由成熟的企业家领导，他们认为成熟的企业家精神是增长最快的企业家精神领域。这项研究是首次使用五个实用的嵌入式案例研究来研究澳大利亚的成年企业家精神。与Cartensen的社会运动选择理论相一致，我们采用了紧急探究行动研究的解释主义哲学框架。本文包括与成熟企业家精神相关的收益和挑战，包括背景和理论基础。我们提供政策和研究建议，以增强针对老年人的专用创业生态系统的开发。