South African digital lender Lulalend to launch banking product off the back of $35M Series B • TechCrunch

In most African countries, access to credit remains limited for many small businesses, with the reasons ranging from the inability to pay collateral and lack of credit history to unfavorable lending criteria and high-interest rates.  Banks and governments have tried to address this gap across different African markets by implementing several loan initiatives, but there’s…

Rebel without a cause • TechCrunch

Superstrata’s e-bike is a strange specimen — there’s no two ways about it. In some ways that makes sense; the bike’s concept, borne out in seamless 3D-printed carbon fiber, springs from an equally strange premise. We’ll get into that. Talking to Sonny Vu, founder of Superstrata’s parent company Arevo, the bikes were crafted not out…

Russia is blocking encrypted email startup Skiff • TechCrunch

The Russian government has blocked another encrypted email provider, according to a Russian digital rights organization and the email provider. Last Wednesday, Roskomsvoboda, which describes itself as “the first Russian public organization active in the field of protecting digital rights and expanding digital opportunities,” reported that an unknown Russian state organization ordered the block of…