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4 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Anathi Qolo embraces Springbok Women's leadership role ahead of Africa Cup
The Springbok Women are gearing up for a tough battle in the Africa Cup in Madagascar. Image: Henk Kruger, Independent Newspapers Springbok Women's skipper Anathi Qolo said being handed the armband for the 2025 Rugby Women's Africa Cup in Madagascar helped unlock hidden leadership potential. The Bulls Daisies lock will guide the SA team in the defence of their title at Stade Makis in Antananarivo that kicks off with Saturday's clash against Uganda (noon kickoff). Kenya and Madagascar are the other two teams taking part in the tournament. "I never thought that I have leadership skills in me until I got this opportunity to lead this brilliant pack," Qolo told Independent Media Sport exclusively this week. The number of experienced players included in the squad named on Friday will surely only help the new skipper find her feet. Qolo will captain a Springbok Women's side with a combined 174 caps in their opener against Uganda, with three uncapped players – Patience Mokone (wing), Faith Tshauke (No 8) and Anushka Groenewald (flanker) – included in the starting team for the Test at Stade Makis. A further five uncapped players have been named on the replacements' bench in props Anuchka Ekron and Sinothile Bhengu, lock Dineo Ndlhovu, flanker Nobuhle Mjwara and centre Leigh Fortuin. Fortuin and Mokone represented the Springbok Women's Sevens team earlier in the season, while all of the uncapped players, apart from Mjwara, also played for the Junior Springbok Women earlier in their careers. The Africa Cup squad of 28 trained under assistant coach Franzel September and Bafana Nhleko, while another group continued World Cup preparations under Springbok Women's performance coach Swys de Bruin and forwards coach Laurian Johannes-Haupt. "I'm happy with the preparations because the team has been progressing and focusing on the main job, which is to win Africa Cup," Qolo said. "Our set piece has been our main focus, together with our skillset. "Our biggest improvement has also been in the set piece because we've been focusing on that." Qolo is bracing for a fast and physical game, feeling it will take "effort, attitude and dedication" to retain their crown. "Heading to the World Cup it will mean a lot to me and my team as we're paving the way to a brighter future for South African rugby," she said. September agreed with his captain and said they are expecting a physical battle and some direct rugby. "What we saw in our analysis is that they are not scared to run with the ball, so there is an element of variety in their play, and they love doing quick taps from penalties,' he said. 'We prepared well and will be ready for everything they are going to throw at us.' The Springbok Women thrashed Uganda 63-3 in East London in September 2013 and 89-5 in Brakpan in August 2019. The Lady Cranes could be in for another torrid afternoon, with South Africa starting with five backs who represented the country at the previous Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in a sign of intent.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
KEYBANK AND QOLO PARTNER TO ADVANCE COMMERCIAL BANKING CAPABILITIES WITH VIRTUAL ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
KeyBank expands partnership with an equity investment in Qolo to collaborate on banking innovation CLEVELAND, June 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- KeyBank (NYSE: KEY) today announced a strategic partnership with Qolo, a pioneer of payment cycle management solutions. This partnership, along with the launch of KeyVAM® announced last year, marks the most recent in KeyBank's decade-long strategy of investing in and partnering with emerging fintech providers. Qolo's cutting-edge solutions have been validated by KeyBank's minority investment, further highlighting their impact in the market and shared commitment to driving innovation and delivering transformative solutions. Terms of the investment were not disclosed. KeyVAM® is a technology-enabled cash management solution powered by Qolo, providing clients with the ability to manage multiple clients or cost centers with custom virtual account structures, automated reporting and reconciliation, an intuitive user interface, and fast, easy API integration. "After two years of a very successful working relationship, we were happy to participate in a minority funding round that fully aligns KeyBank's interest with Qolo while respecting Qolo's commitment to serve all its banking clients transparently," said Diana Welch Howell, head of Key Commercial Bank Alternative and Fintech Strategies. "Our partnership ensures an integrated view of the product roadmap and the client experience. The success that we have had with these types of partnerships over the past decade shows that our clients trust us to deliver solutions that complement our core services." "Our ongoing partnership with KeyBank is focused on empowering businesses and financial institutions with technology that drives better client experiences," said Qolo CEO Patricia Montesi. "We are excited to have KeyBank become a minority investor and to see our relationship be reinforced after working closely the last two years in delivering KeyVAM®. Their partnership is a testament to our commitment to advance innovation in the banking industry as we continue to grow and expand our partnerships and deliver real value to our clients." KeyVAM® has processed nearly $9 billion in transactions, marking a significant milestone in the platform's success since last October. The enhanced platform builds upon KeyVAM's core benefits, which include ACH reconciliation within flexible virtual account structures, streamlined cash management, customized reporting, and integration capabilities through flexible APIs. Recent enhancements include same-day ACH reconciliation, enhanced dashboard reporting for cash flow visualizations and improved statement reporting to simplify reconciliation for primary accounts as well as virtual sub-accounts. "The success of KeyVAM® and subsequent development of new capabilities are a result of our collaboration with Qolo," said Bennie Pennington, Head of Embedded Banking at KeyBank. "Qolo's technology and deep knowledge of the financial industry represents a leap forward in how commercial payments are managed across a wide range of industry verticals." About KeyCorpIn 2025, KeyCorp celebrates its bicentennial, marking 200 years of service to clients and communities from Maine to Alaska. To learn more, visit KeyBank Heritage Center. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $189 billion at March 31, 2025. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,200 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications, and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit KeyBank Member FDIC. About QoloQolo's mission is to accelerate the world's journey to simplify payments. Through our all-in-one card issuing, ledger, and payments platform, we empower our customers to launch innovative financial products, centralize their payments infrastructures, and provide real-time visibility into their payment solutions–all while also speeding time to market and lowering total cost of ownership. Qolo's next-generation infrastructure provides instant access to payments data, analytics, card and account generation, and money movement. Join us as we reshape the future of payments. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE KeyBank
