Purpose The entrepreneurial ecosystem approach tries to understand the mechanisms underlying new business creation and helps develop tools, governmental policies and support systems that enhance the outcomes of entrepreneurship activities. To ensure a better understanding of those mechanisms, this study aims to contrast regional policies in emerging economies that are designed to foster local new business creation and development. Design/methodology/approach One of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor's surveys, the National Experts' Survey, was applied to a sample of N = 675 key informants in Mexico at ten entities, seven of whom were categorized as non-centrally located. The authors used non-parametric statistics to compare the differences between centrally and non-centrally located experts. Findings The main results indicate that non-centrally located experts perceive their regions to be in a worse position than centrally located experts in terms of government policies regulation, post-school education and commercial and physical infrastructure, but surprisingly in a better position regarding financial access, general government policy, government programs, primary and secondary education, R&D transfer, market dynamism and openness and cultural and social norms. Practical implications - These findings have policy implications for all levels of government in Mexico, which must prioritize the homologation of opportunities for people in both large and small cities. Originality/value The replication of a Chilean study contributes to the empirical literature of regional entrepreneurial ecosystems in emerging economies.