The Power of Patient Capital In the era of speed and quick returns, Armenian philanthropist and impact leader Mareta Gevorkyan focuses on patience.She describes the concept of patient capital, quiet leadership, and progress being a matter of time, presence, and trust in people.

Gevorkyan prefers to focus on what can last through many generations by building long-lasting infrastructure: buildings, schools, spaces, playgrounds, and people who surround these places.

In Armenia and beyond, that sort of durability is not guaranteed. It is a form of human, cultural, and economic capital that is consistent and patient.

To her, patient capital isn't an asset class or a catchword. It's a way of constructing with vision, rather than a focus on short-run returns. It's coordinating private capital to trigger public goods, sowing seeds for institutions to be handed over by the public sector. It's incremental, but slow doesn't mean passive. Slow is deliberate.

When Mareta and her team began to remake Anahit Nursery-Kindergarten in Oshakan in 2006, there was no plan for credit or visibility. The mission was easy: restore a good building where children could learn and grow up. That behind-the-scenes work continued for almost two decades - rebuilding buildings, upgrading technology, improving classrooms.

Real impact is never ever experienced in year one. It shows up after years, not months.

Funded by the Green Rock Foundation, Mareta reports that the Dilijan Sports School was renovated in 2023 following a complete rebuild, now accommodates around 400 children. The foundation oversees its operation. That's patient capital to Gevorkyan in a nutshell: a private initiative creating a public good, and then stepping back so everyone can benefit.

To her, investing is to care, build structure, and create space for possibilities.

The Apicius Armenia Hospitality School is another example. According to the Green Rock Management Group, it is a sustainable social impact initiative that brings in revenue and focuses on developing tourism and infrastructure in Dilijan.

Katerina Danekina, CEO of Green Rock, came on to lead the Group's eight projects representing an investment of $160 million. "The goal was to inspire more young people, especially those living in the area, to view hospitality as a respectable, professional calling," she said.

Education needs to be made to be experienced as a gift and not something bought.

According to the Keron Development Foundation, the Medical Library at Yerevan State Medical University is being rebuilt to answer a simple question. How can Armenia's medical students be successful without a modern, digital library? According to Mareta, the new space — designed by Dutch architects — is planned to expand from 60 to 3,000 square meters, offering full digital resources and operating for longer hours to support research, study, and collaboration.

The goal is to create a place people want to be in. A space that inspires learning and pride. Success, to Gevorkyan, is not about profit but about giving doctors and students the resources to advance medical education and strengthen Armenia's healthcare future.

She believes the best leadership is providing someone the opportunity to do their best work, not for personal recognition.

The building of three new public playgrounds in Yerevan by the Keron Development Foundation helps take this impact model to the next level. The Foundation is creating modern community playgrounds that meet international standards and create safe places for children to play. Simply making space for families to spend time together already can create a ripple of more positive neighborhood experiences.

She also notes new restorations in the works with Hosq Foundation, where an architectural heritage site is being converted into a community creative hub with studios, galleries, and co-working labs. As Gevorkyan sees it, heritage is not a museum. It's about keeping things useful, alive and where people live and breathe, with their friends and families.

Every project is different in scale, but the principle remains constant: to create enduring foundations that serve daily life.

Patience isn't sitting around waiting. Patience is active stewardship - waiting long enough to see what you have to do and to make systems self-sustaining once you're gone.

Perfection is not the aim. Continuity is what drives the work, thickening the weave of everyday life.

The approach starts with listening to a pace of what already works. Art space or playground, or whatever – it must feel native.

The work is about making a contribution to the community. Always trying to keep what makes it special. Culture must be lived-in, not put on display.

And finally, patient capital is not just money. It's belief that if we invest with commitment and purpose, individuals will prove themselves worthy, and institutions will outlive us. That's what will get the work done.