We're not consultants advising from the sidelines — we're operators who fund, build, and stay accountable to the outcome.
Northstar Group's founders and managing partners, Aram Cherkezyan and Rafayel Mkrtchyan, are UC Berkeley alumni who spent their early careers in Silicon Valley before returning home to Armenia. There, they co-founded GameBit, a B2B iGaming platform provider specializing in Web3 and gamification, and helped attract millions of dollars of investment into the country's technology sector.
That experience — raising capital, building institutional relationships, and operating at Silicon Valley standards from Yerevan — convinced them Armenia's next chapter of growth wouldn't come from tech alone. It would come from bringing the world's most trusted consumer brands into the market, fully funded and properly run.
Northstar Group was founded to do exactly that: become the strategic partner international brands turn to when they're ready to open in Armenia. Northstar Group is a privately owned investment group — independently funded and operated, with no ownership by or affiliation with the Government of Armenia or any state agency.
By providing world-class facilitation, transparent coordination, and relentless advocacy for investors.
Renowned for a dynamic and diverse economy — enriching local entrepreneurs and global business leaders alike.
No black boxes. Brands see the research, the numbers, and the plan at every stage.
We represent our partners' interests with regulators, landlords, and institutions until the doors open.
Silicon Valley operating discipline applied to real estate, licensing, and launch logistics.
We fund the launch ourselves — our incentives are permanently aligned with the brand's success.
A founding team of UC Berkeley alumni and Silicon Valley returnees, now based full-time in Yerevan.

Aram brings deep, hands-on experience building and scaling technology companies in Armenia. He is co-founder and CEO of GameBit, a B2B iGaming platform provider specializing in Web3 and gamification — experience that gives Northstar Group an operator's eye for what it actually takes to build and run a business in-market, not just advise on one.

Rafayel brings a strong technology and business background across several of Armenia's fastest-growing sectors. He co-founded GameBit, a B2B iGaming platform provider specializing in Web3 and gamification, and theConsultancy Partners, Armenia's leading digital transformation consultancy for banks, fintech, and decentralized finance. That range — from product to regulated finance — shapes how Northstar Group structures capital and navigates institutional relationships on behalf of its partners.