Leila Ben-Gacem () is a Tunisian social entrepreneur. She is the founder of Blue Fish company and the initiator and founder of several initiatives in the Tunisian ecosystem and cultural scenes through
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
n
Civil Society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere. Ben-Gacem is also an elected member of the municipal council of Beni Khalled since Tunisia's first decentralized municipal elections were held in 2018.
Biography
Ben-Gacem studied
biomedical engineering
Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic purposes). BME also integrates the logica ...
at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
. She worked in many companies such as IMM in
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
,
Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...
in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, Assada Medical in
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
.
In 2006, she started the social enterprise Blue Fish to help Tunisian artisans, particularly women, to export their works and develop their businesses. In 2009, she initiated Sougha Est in the khalifa fund for enterprise development in
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
in the
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...
. She occupied the position of Senior Manager at the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, helping
Emirati women
According to Human Rights Watch, there is substantial discrimination against women in the United Arab Emirates. The status of women has improved over the years. UAE performs better on metrics of gender equality than many other states in the P ...
artisans
An artisan (from , ) is a skilled worker, skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by handicraft, hand. These objects may be wikt:functional, functional or strictly beauty, decorative, for example furnit ...
in developing their local enterprises, until 2013 when she decided to go back to
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
.
In 2013, Leila founded Dar Ben-Gacem, a boutique hotel and a social enterprise. The guest house's main objective is to contribute to the development of the
Medina of Tunis
The Medina of Tunis is the medina quarter of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
The Medina contains some 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas and fountains dating from ...
. Ben-Gacem was elected, in the period of 2014-2016, as a board member of Edhiafa Association that deals with the network of boutique hotels in Tunisia. Before that, she was a board member in CJD (Centre des Jeunes Dirigeants) - Young CEO Centre until 2009.
Civic engagement and social change
Ben-Gacem is known as a socio-cultural catalyst. She has been involved in many cultural initiatives to revive the Medina of Tunis and ensure its sustainable development. In 2015, Leila and other civil society actors played a major role in reviving
the Rachidia
The Rachidia is an artistic and cultural association specializing in Tunisian music. It was created on 3 November 1934 by the intellectual, political and artistic community led by , who was Sheikh el Medina of Tunis at that period.
The institu ...
association in its 80th anniversary, then she joined other cultural initiatives such as ''Journal de la Médina'', the national
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free content, free Online content, online encyclopedia that is written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and La ...
project MedinaPedia and the first Light Festival in Africa Interference.
In 2015 as well, she has led a national campaign to revive the industry and usage of the Chachia. Leila occupied the position of President of the Association of Preservation of Beni Khalled from 2015 until 2018. She is also a founding member of the Ultramarathon Association in
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
since 2017, where they organised the first Ultramarathon, UltraMirage in
Nefta
Nefta (or Nafta; ) is a Tunisian municipality and an oasis in Tozeur Governorate north of the Chott el Djerid.
Religious significance
Nefta is considered by most Sufis to be the spiritual home of Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam; many rel ...
in the south of Tunisia.
In 2017, Ben-Gacem founded the first co-working space in the Medina of Tunis, entitled Dar El Harka, intended as a hub for creative industries. Ben-Gacem joined
Emna Mizouni
Emna Mizouni (, ; born 1987) is a Tunisian internet and human rights activist, free-lance journalist, communications expert and business executive. In July 2019, After successfully helping to prepare RightsCon Tunis, Access Now, the internationa ...
in founding Digital Citizenship organization to advance the knowledge and skills of women entrepreneurs.
Ben-Gacem ran for civic office in the 2018 Tunisian municipal elections, as part of a list of independent candidates with the slogan "Ghodwa Khir - Tomorrow is better". She was elected to the Beni Khalled municipality. Later, she was appointed the head of the finance committee. She also joined the network of women municipal counsellors in the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...
region along with Souad Abderrahim and other women municipal councillors.
Recognition
Ben-Gacem received Fatma El Fehria Award in 2017. In the same year, she received the Women Entrepreneur in Cultural Sector Award as well. Prior to that, in October 2016, she became an
Ashoka
Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...