Entrepreneurs build entrepreneurial ecosystems as they select their networks, mentors, funders, and other players. As a result, entrepreneurial ecosystems are deemed necessary for stimulating successful entrepreneurial activities. This study seeks to understand how the actors in a youth entrepreneurial ecosystem facilitate youth engagement in successful entrepreneurial activities. To meet the objectives of this qualitative study, interviews were conducted with successful youth entrepreneurs to understand their critical success factors. Also, the entrepreneurial ecosystem actors were interviewed to understand how they facilitate successful youth entrepreneurship. The study has found that the impact of ecosystem players on successful youth entrepreneurial activities is marginalized by disaggregated efforts of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Botswana. Also, the study found that to facilitate successful youth entrepreneurship, there is a need to address mindset issues, provide experiential entrepreneurship education, and align funding interventions with the level of development of the entrepreneurs. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge because it presents an understanding of how entrepreneurial ecosystems actors support successful youth entrepreneurship from an African perspective. Also, it informs policy on how to support successful youth entrepreneurship from an emerging economies perspective in general, and an African context in particular.

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