"In 2022, the Philippines became a magnet for fintech start-ups from around the world due to the clear gap between demand for accessible credit and its supply," said Arsen Liametov, co-founder of Skyro. “On one side were traditional banks offering low-interest loans only to the most affluent segments of the population. On the other were payday lenders charging annualised rates of up to 400%. We chose to position ourselves between these extremes, targeting the largest and most underserved segment of the market, and we built the model from day one to be scalable well beyond a single country.”
Skyro uses AI-based alternative credit-scoring methods to assess the creditworthiness of individuals who lack a formal credit history, analysing factors such as online purchase history, smartphone usage data, and in-app behaviour. This approach enables the company to build a holistic picture of an individual's credit profile and to extend loans to customers who would otherwise be excluded by traditional banks.
The Philippines remains a challenging market for international fintech lenders, as conventional credit-scoring models often fail to capture the creditworthiness of large segments of the population. Skyro's AI-based approach to credit assessment has enabled it to become an exception in that market.
"Reaching operational break-even is an important milestone for Skyro," said Liametov. “It's what allows us to fund capital-intensive products like SkyroCredit, plan the launch of complementary fintech offerings, including investment technology solutions and SME lending, and expand into new markets.”
Skyro is now applying the same approach beyond the Philippines, expanding its presence across the GCC and South-East Asia. As digital lending continues to disrupt markets where financial regulation remains conservative, Skyro aims to replicate its three-year path to break-even through its scalable lending platform and technology infrastructure.
Across these markets, large segments of the population and small businesses remain outside the formal financial system. That gap is central to Skyro's growth thesis: as these markets become digitalised, lenders that integrate with existing financial infrastructure, rather than building parallel systems to compete with it, are best positioned to scale.
*Operating profit is profit after all operating expenses, including general and administrative expenses, before foreign-exchange gains or losses and income tax. Figures are based on unaudited management accounts.
About Skyro
Skyro is a high-growth, digital-first fintech group providing scalable, responsible access to finance across high-potential emerging markets. Powered by proprietary data science, AI-driven credit decisioning and alternative-data scoring, the company combines a mobile-native experience with a modular fintech architecture to serve underserved customer segments at scale.
By 2026, Skyro's registered user base has grown to 7 million users in the Philippines, underpinned by a robust credit portfolio exceeding $200 million. The company's strategic ambition is to establish itself as a leading provider of diversified financial services across dozens of emerging markets worldwide.
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