The FIRST Global Challenge is an annual Olympic-style competition founded by inventor Dean Kamen. One country, one team of students aged 14 to 18, and more than 190 nations. Teams form international alliances: cooperation matters as much as winning.
7–10 Oct. 2026
Nearly 190 countries came together in South Korea around an urgent challenge: wildfires. How can technology help prevent, detect and fight them? Our students designed, built and programmed their robot in Cotonou with femCoders mentors.
During the #MyCountryIsBestAt challenge, a teammate shared her voice to celebrate Benin's musical heritage.
The competition has ended. Find official results at results.first.global and relive the team's adventure on our blog and social media.
Student selection, robot design and construction, programming, innovation projects, cultural representation, logistics and fundraising, every season since the first edition.
Eleven ranking matches in Incheon. Highest alliance score: 345 points. Our last alliance won 158–134, despite our robot falling after reaching Zone 3.
NTE project: imagining technologies to explore and protect Benin's biodiversity. Meetings with teams from Korea, Slovakia, Belize and more.
A mixed team prepared in Cotonou, from unpacking the kit to the final tests.
A visit to the robot clinic: dimensions (50 × 50 cm maximum), motors, battery and software. Adjustments after the journey and mutual support with other teams. Back home, the team appears on ORTB's ‘5/7 Matins’ programme.
Capturing carbon particles in alliance with five other countries.
The same year: Pan-African Robotics Competition in Ghana and the national BeninBot Challenge at Sèmè City.
The first Team Benin to include girls trained through GFRTP.
First edition, first Team Benin. Seven boys, a determined mentor and weekly video calls with Team Inspiration. The only African team in the top 10. This result convinces the US Embassy to fund GFRTP.
