Timeline of Growth
Three decades of innovation, excellence, and transformation
The $100 Startup
The Margins journey began with a vision and a $100 investment. In 1990, the Founder and CEO, Moses Kwesi Baiden Jnr., then a 23-year-old law student at the University of Ghana, founded the company in his father's garage at Ringway Estates, Accra.
Margins Company Limited
Originally operating under the name Margins Company Limited, the business capitalised on the digital revolution of the early 90s, specialised in document print and finishing solutions. As offices shifted from typewriters to personal computers, Margins supplied the essential consumables required to manage this new influx of documents.
From Supplies to Security
While the company started with general office supplies, it quickly identified a critical gap in the market: the need for document security. Margins gained early dominance by supplying lamination machines and secure binding systems to protect documents, incorporating Pronto Print on Demand.
Passport Lamination
By 1997, Margins was handling the lamination of Ghanaian passports, marking its first major step into national-level identity security.
Birth of Margins ID Group
Recognising that the future lay in sophisticated identity solutions, the company underwent a major strategic restructuring. Margins ID Group was incorporated, marking the shift from a print and document finishing company to an identity systems integrator and developer.
ICPS Inaugurated
In 2004, the group inaugurated a multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art production facility in Accra. ICPS became the largest certified secure card and document manufacturing plant in Sub-Saharan Africa, producing banking cards, national IDs, and security documents at central-bank-level security standards.
MIDSA Incorporated
Margins ID Systems Applications (MIDSA) Limited was incorporated as the technology development and integration arm of the group, to build the digital ecosystems that securely connect people to their data.
National Identity Systems
Through its specialised subsidiaries, IMS and IMS II, Margins Group became the prime contractor for the National Identification Authority (NIA). Margins was instrumental in conceptualising, designing, and delivering Ghana's National ID Systems and the Ghana Card.
A Global Identity Leader
Today, Margins Group stands as a multinational entity with operations spanning Ghana, Europe, and North America. The group holds top-tier global certifications including ISO 9001, ISO 27001, and Intergraf, proving that world-class technology solutions can be built in Africa, by Africans, for the world.