Exponential Education was founded in February 2010 by Helen Gradstein. The organization initially began in collaboration with a former University of Ghana professor, Prof. Kate Adoo Adeku of the Adult Education Institute. After a few weeks planning with headmasters, teachers, students and the Ministry of Education, Exponential Education initially launched in the backyard of Prof. Kate's house with 4 high school students teaching 15 junior high school students. 

 

Together, Exponential Education and People and Development (PAD) Associates created and continued a community based, sustainable after-school tutoring program. Exponential Education also launched a program in Khan Market, Delhi in collaboration with the NGO Kutumb. The program was a success, proving that the model can be replicated and easily established in most countries. 

 

Exponential Education programs continued successfully in Ghana with the help of volunteers who monitored programs in Gradstein's absence. In 2012 the number of programs expanded from 3 to 15, and in 2013 Expo located their offices in Kumasi. 

​

Starting in 2015 Expo expanded beyond just academic tutoring, with the design and implementation of the Girls Leadership Empowerment Action Program (Girls LEAP). This program was joined by Boys for Positive change in 2016 to form a new core of Expo's programming. With the advent of free tuition for senior high school students the need for our P2P scholarships needed to be considered, and since September 2017 we have paused the P2P program to re-design in while focusing on gender programming. 

 

To date, Exponential Education has had a total reach of over 2000 students. In 2018/19 Expo is looking to build on its gender programs and focus on deep collaboration with government and CSOs to expand its programming and advocacy work in education and gender issues.