Singapore is a fast-ageing society and recent Government data indicates that Singapore is facing an impending ‘silver tsunami’. Many researchers have raised the alarm on the problems that such an ageing Singaporean population would bring and how it would negatively affect the economy and society if not well managed. However, this silver tsunami can also be viewed as an opportunity, an impending wave of senior talent that can be harnessed and channelled into increased effective senior entrepreneurship in Singapore. Hence, this thesis seeks to explore an under-researched topic in Asia, namely, what are the benefits of senior entrepreneurship and identify the challenges that potential older entrepreneurs face and highlight potential supporting strategies that can be adopted to alleviate those challenges. The thesis adopts a qualitative interpretivist approach. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews of nine successful senior entrepreneurs who became founders after the age of 50 and also through two focus groups interviews with one group below the age of 50 and the other above age 55. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected data. The findings revealed that while business knowledge sharing is one of the benefits that can be leveraged from the senior entrepreneurs, the effective use of technology and positive sales generation were two distinct challenges that senior entrepreneurs often needed additional support with. This research recommended the need for relevant stakeholders to implement further policies to promote Senior Entrepreneurship in Singapore. One such initiative identified is to create business incubators especially designed for seniors.

Authors:
Herbert Chee, Edinburgh Napier University, United Kingdom

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Herbert Chee. Graduated from Edinburgh Napier University with a doctoral degree in business administration in 2023 and currently a CEO of two companies. The paper I researched in involved the promotion of Senior Entrepreneurship in Singapore"

See this presentation on the full schedule – Wednesday Schedule

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