From Knowledge to Enterprise: 10th Annual SRHR Knowledge Fair 2025 Report
The 10th Annual SRHR Knowledge Fair 2025 marked more than a milestone. It signalled a shift. Under the theme “SRHR Business for the Grassroots: Knowledge>Business>Impact,” the Fair challenged one critical question: how can sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) move beyond donor dependence and become sustainable, community-driven, and economically viable?
For nearly a decade, the Knowledge Fair hosted by Share-Net Bangladesh—has connected research, policy, and practice. This year, the conversation evolved. The focus was not only on evidence and advocacy, but on sustainability, entrepreneurship, and long-term impact.
Bangladesh has a large youth population and millions of people of reproductive age. Yet, gaps in access, affordability, and awareness of SRHR services remain, especially at the grassroots. The 2025 Fair highlighted that investing in SRHR is not charity—it is smart social and economic business. When communities turn knowledge into enterprise, they create jobs, expand services, and strengthen local ownership.
It calls for a gradual transition from foreign aid dependence to locally financed and socially responsible business models. It emphasises enabling policies—such as simplified licensing and supportive procurement systems—to help grassroots entrepreneurs grow ethically. It highlights the potential of phygital models that combine digital platforms with community-based services, expanding reach while maintaining trust.
The Fair also underscored the role of community pharmacies, women-led health enterprises, and sustainable menstrual product manufacturing as practical pathways for impact. It urged greater attention to neglected reproductive health issues, including infertility and PCOS, and called for stronger youth leadership in designing SRHR innovations.
Importantly, the report stresses that commercialisation must not compromise rights. Ethical safeguards, equity, and informed choice must remain at the centre of any SRHR business model.
Finally, the Knowledge Fair positioned itself as more than an annual event. It aims to become a policy-influencing and investment-shaping platform linking innovators, researchers, government actors, and private sector leaders in a shared ecosystem.
The message is clear: the future of SRHR in Bangladesh lies in transforming knowledge into enterprise—and enterprise into measurable, inclusive impact.