Couple entrepreneurs aim to build competitiveness of Filipino kids

MANILA, Philippines - For couple entrepreneurs Anthony and Anna Esguerra, business and advocacy should go hand in hand. Seeing the interplay of business prospects and the opportunity to help build the capability and competitiveness of Filipino kids in CMA Mental Arithmetic, they did not hesitate to acquire the Philippine master franchise of the internationally renowned learning center that originated in Taiwan. 

 CMA uses a sophisticated and hierarchical Abacus-type learning method that enhances and sharpens students’ mathematical ability, memory and analytical and critical thinking, offering top education-enhancement program known overseas, especially in the ASEAN region.

 The class-based Abacus training of CMA Mental Arithmetic implements an individual and direct approach to teaching, with each class accommodating a maximum of 10 students to fully develop, train and sharpen the students' thinking skills, which will benefit the next generation and prepare them to be competitive leaders in and outside the country in the future.

 CMA Mental Arithmetic offers  1.5 hours classes during weekdays or weekends, with grading levels starting at foundation or entry level, proceeding to beginners' Level 13 and up to the more advanced Level 1.

 Each level consists of 10 meetings or sessions that will take students one to six months to complete before proceeding to the higher level, depending on the students’ capacity to master each level.

 The curriculum which caters to learners is a one-on-one type of education to better instill the knowledge to students that will develop their understanding of the lessons. It is designed to raise the students’ thinking skills and confidence in terms of learning subjects taught in school as they already have a mathematical foundation to back it up.

 “With Mathematics being the hardest subject taught in school, who wouldn’t be confident and competitive not just in school, but also in the real world, if you already have mastered Math? In CMA, we get to instill the mechanical Abacus system in the students’ head for them to solve a problem easily,” CMA Philippines president and CEO Anthony Esguerra emphasized.

 "The beauty of the CMA teaching method is that if a child is consistently learning the program for two to three years, it will be part of the child's life skill. The learning is more mathematical and if the child fully absorbs the calculator or Abacus in his or her head, the child will acquire life-long skills that are useful in his daily life: basic arithmetic, sharp memory, analytical and critical thinking, and confidence together with being a competitive individual," Esguerra enthused.  

CMA has been successful in entering the Philippines in 2011 and building its first school in Ortigas in 2012. Since its entry in the country in 2011, CMA has been offering Abacus-based learning programs to students, training programs for teachers, and business opportunities to entrepreneurs through its franchise system. 

With the upcoming ASEAN Economic integration in 2015, CMA aims to expand the learning brand in the Philippines to benefit more Filipino students across the country to train them to be more competitive individuals globally.

 CMA is targeting to close the year with 10 more  schools via the franchising mode from the existing 12 institutions already built, as well as 20 more next year to be established mostly outside of Metro Manila. 

"We saw the need three years ago for this enrichment program for the Filipino kids. When we saw this learning style famous and doing good in our neighboring countries, we felt the urge to bring CMA to the country for our kids to be able to compete and at least be head on with global competitors," Esguerra, with wife Anna as chief operations officer, explained. 

For the Esguerras, CMA kids are their “babies.”

CMA is present in 10 different locations across Metro Manila to date, including the Ortigas main office; Greenhills, San Juan; D. Tuazon, Quezon City; Grace Christian College, Quezon City; Capitol Hills, Quezon City; Fairview, Quezon City; Binondo, Manila; Makati City along Jupiter Street; Dasmarinas, Cavite; Guiguinto, Bulacan, Cagayan de Oro City, and Iloilo City.

For inquiries, call CMA hotline at +63(2) 584-9670, or send email to [email protected].