Marc Tovalou Quénum (name later changed to Kojo Tovalou Houénou) was born 25 April 1887 in the city of Porto-Novo. Porto-Novo had become a French protectorate earlier in the decade and would become a key site of warfare between the French colonial empire and the Kingdom of Dahomey from 1890 until 1894. His father, Joseph Tovalou Quénum (d. 1925), was a successful businessman along the coast and his mother was a sister of the last independent king of Dahomey, Béhanzin. Joseph was an active supporter of the French empire and believed it would greatly assist the economy of the region. He provided key support for the French empire during the Franco-Dahomean wars, was awarded the French medal of honor for his service, and became one of three African advisers to the French colonial administration. In 1900, Joseph took two of his sons to Paris for the Exposition Universelle or World's Fair and while there decided to enroll Houénou and his half brother at a boarding school in Bordeaux.