“We don’t have electricity in our house”, Germain Ford Tohouenou, 1st in Benin in the BAC 2025

At just 18 years old, Germain Ford Tohouenou became the top of the class in the 2025 Baccalaureate in Benin. In an exclusive interview, the young prodigy reveals the keys to his success and unveils his futuristic ambitions in robotics and automation.

Discipline, method, and a clear vision. These are the ingredients that allowed Germain Ford Tohouenou, a student in series C, to emerge as the national baccalaureate laureate of 2025.

The young man distinguished himself by an unwavering rigor, initiated at the end of his penultimate year of schooling. “I was already preparing the senior-year topics during the holidays. I took the lead and started working seriously, especially in PCT,” he explains in a calm tone.

Without a tutor, Germain relied on a meticulous organization of his time, going as far as mapping out each day of the week, including Sundays.

“Even if unexpected events should arise, I always find a slot for each subject,” he says. Waking up at 5am and staying up late until midnight, the youngster kept a sustained rhythm, balanced by short family breaks.

His modest family environment did not slow his momentum. Son of a teacher relocated to another city and a saleswoman, Germain grew up in a home without electricity, TV, and personal phone.

“Concerning hobbies, I don’t have any as such. Since we don’t have electricity at home, there is no TV. The phone is my mom’s phone that’s around,”

His free time is devoted to chatting with his family or helping his mother with household chores.

A prodigious search for advanced technology

First in his class since primary school, Germain admits that the 13/20 he obtained in French at the Baccalaureate surprised him. “I was expecting better. But well, that’s how it is, it’s not a problem. All subjects are important to me.”

With an exceptional average and an innovative mindset, he contemplates a career in automation and robotics.

“It’s a field of the future, one of the most sought after. It aligns with my aspirations.”

Aware of the lack of dedicated training in Benin, he is aiming for international venues such as the United States, England, China… His ambition is to design automated systems and robots capable of intervening in medicine, construction, or even defense.

Already engaged in initiatives with his father, Germain Tohouénou dreams of revolutionizing the world with sensors, coding, and artificial intelligence.