Quito, March 10, 2026

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IMPAQTO Capital announces an investment in Zhana Solutions, a Colombia-based cleantech company modernizing the treatment of greasy wastewater from commercial kitchens through patented electrochemical technology. The investment will support Zhana’s growth across Colombia and a controlled expansion into Mexico, scaling a circular economy model that protects water systems while improving operational efficiency and workplace safety in the food industry.

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Fats, oils, and grease are among the most damaging pollutants in urban wastewater systems. In the food sector, these residues contaminate waterways, clog sewer infrastructure, and drive significant sanitation costs for cities and businesses. Zhana addresses this challenge at the source—inside commercial kitchens—through compact systems that remove up to 99% of fats and oils from wastewater without chemicals.

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Founded in 2019 by Francisco Vivas, Javier de Castro, and Andrés Galindo, Zhana operates under a Hardware-as-a-Service model, installing and maintaining its equipment under monthly subscriptions. This approach lowers adoption barriers for SMEs and ensures performance through ongoing maintenance and monitoring. Zhana also coordinates certified grease collection and disposal through specialized partners and provides environmental reporting; recovered grease is repurposed into biodiesel inputs, strengthening a circular value chain.

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Zhana’s solution delivers both environmental and social benefits. By automating grease management, it eliminates the hazardous, manual cleaning of traditional grease traps—a task often assigned to the lowest-paid kitchen and maintenance staff—improving workplace safety and supporting staff retention while reducing operational downtime for businesses.

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The company has demonstrated strong adoption across Colombia, currently serving 50+ clients with more than 250 units installed, including deployments with brands such as Crepes & Waffles, Frisby, and Burger King. To date, Zhana has treated over 218 million liters of water, recovered more than 146,000 liters of grease for biodiesel production, and mitigated approximately 1,900 tons of CO₂ equivalent emissions. The company has also improved working conditions for more than 1,200 workers by removing unsafe manual processes from daily operations.

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“Zhana represents the type of scalable, execution-driven innovation we aim to back,” said Michelle Arévalo-Carpenter, Managing Partner at IMPAQTO Capital. “They are addressing an overlooked but critical environmental problem through defensible technology and a service model that makes adoption easy for customers and scalable for the company. What also stands out is that the solution improves the day-to-day reality of frontline kitchen staff by removing a dangerous and degrading task from the workplace.”

 

“IMPAQTO arrived at precisely the right moment, with financing conditions aligned to the growth stage Zhana is navigating,” said Francisco Vivas, CEO and Co-Founder of Zhana Solutions. “Investing in circularity requires meaningful upfront capital and the ability to manage financial complexity. IMPAQTO understood that reality and supported us with a flexible, creative credit structure designed not to pressure our cash flow, but to strengthen it. More than financing, it was a structure built to help us grow in an orderly, sustainable way, aligned with our purpose.”

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“Zhana has built an exceptionally strong team with deep knowledge of the industry and a clear understanding of what it takes to scale a solution like this,” said Justin Schwartz, Managing Partner at IMPAQTO Capital. “We’ve been impressed by their innovative product and, equally important, their consistent execution: delivering measurable results for customers and expanding with discipline. The team’s commitment to values and impact is evident in how they operate, and we’re excited to support their next stage of growth.”

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The investment will enable Zhana to expand deployments with multi-site customers, grow its commercial reach, strengthen its monitoring roadmap, and execute an initial soft landing in Mexico—advancing cleaner water systems and safer working conditions across the region’s food service sector.

 

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