Za-Kpota dates back to 1645, when Fon settlers from Abomey and Bohicon settled there in order to develop farming and hunting.

The name is derived from settlers who remarked "Za kpo O ta bo not Finin" which roughly means: "Sweep the rise and reside there.

Za-Kpota was struck hard by the 2008 Benin floods in July 2008, tearing down mud and straw homes and infrastructure and polluting rivers.

[2] It erupted after rival traffickers gave the Nigerian police pictures of children from Za-Kpota working arduously in quarries and farms in Nigeria, authorised by their parents due to extreme poverty.

[2] In cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the government has set up village committees to stop child trafficking.