Leila Ben-Gacem: Dreaming of Beautiful Obsessions

In this week’s episode, we travel to Tunisia to talk with Leila Ben-Gacem, a social entrepreneur and cultural preservationist, who shares her journey from biomedical engineering to community-based entrepreneurship in the heart of Tunis’ historic Medina. The conversation takes place at Dar Ben Gacem, her boutique hotel and social enterprise that not only revitalizes a historical space but also empowers the local community through inclusive hiring, artisan collaboration, youth education support, and economic opportunity. Leila emphasizes redefining profit to include social and environmental impact, advocating for a shared economy model where local prosperity is interlinked. This extraordinary conversation touches on the many layers that make up modern African identity in all its myriad forms helping to make Africa “home” to not just those on the continent but around the globe.

This is Dreaming in Color, Africa

Jump straight into:

00:02:00 Leila starts off the conversation with lyrics from Tunisian rapper Balti; don’t worry she translates for Darren.

00:04:00 Because of her father’s work travel, growing up Lelia spent only summers home in Tunisia, which made her value and appreciate Tunisian culture even more and understand the opportunities that the culture offers.

00:07:10 The magic of being a social entrepreneur and being able to run a business that benefits “the people that work there, the community, the environment”.

00:12:30 On taking “early retirement at 30” in order to pursue her obsession of social entrepreneurship.

00:15:00 On the origins of the Dar Ben Gacem hotel in the city’s Medina - built on layer upon layer of history going back 500 years, with each era ushering in new influences.

00:25:00 On artisans thinking “horizontally and vertically” to move forward and create new narratives

00:28:00 Hear how Tunis, which was originally known as Africa before giving the continent its name, can be considered home by so many.

00:31:00 According to Leila, the history of Tunis is easy to understand. “They come. We don’t like them… And they become family.” That history of layering makes Darren think of great gumbo when he grew up in New Orleans.

00:38:00 Hear Leila talk about being “the most positive person I know”

00:40:00 Rounding out the conversation on a pitch for social entrepreneurs and how many of Leila’s “250 dreams” are likely to come to fruition