Margins ID’s superior technology wins Gambia over — Ousman Bah

Special Adviser to the President of The Gambia on ICT and Digital Economy, Ousman Bah has applauded Margins ID Group for advancing digital identity interoperability, citing Ghana’s system as a model for African-led digitalisation.

He said Ghana’s ability to connect identity systems and consolidate data had impressed him, prompting The Gambia to adopt the same technology through a partnership with Margins ID Group.

“When I came to Ghana in December 2022, I met Margins and looked at what Margins was doing compared with what Western countries were doing in terms of digitalisation,” he said.

Having also visited Rwanda and other countries, he said Ghana’s emphasis on interoperability stood out, particularly in its driver’s licensing system, where data were being scanned and consolidated into a single database.

“In terms of the driver’s licence that he just talked about, I see with my own eyes how they are scanning all these data and putting them in one single database,” he said.

Speaking at the 11th MOBEX Africa Conference 2026 in Accra, Mr Bah said Ghana’s approach reflected the kind of infrastructure he wanted to establish in The Gambia.

“How they have the digital ID, and this is what I want in Gambia. We are not there yet,” he said.

He added that The Gambia had since adopted and implemented the technology through a partnership with Margins ID Group.

“So today, I can proudly sit here and say the same technology Ghana has implemented is the same technology Gambia has adopted and implemented through a partnership with Margins ID Group,” he said.

The Gambian National Identity Management System is being implemented through a partnership between the Government of The Gambia and IMS Gambia Ltd, an implementation partner within the Margins ID Group ecosystem. The project is intended to support individual identification and verification while laying the foundation for more connected public services.

Mr Bah’s endorsement highlights the potential for African countries to share and adapt locally developed technology to meet national digitalisation needs.

Addressing the conference, Moses Kwesi Baiden Jnr, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Margins ID Group, described digital identity as essential economic infrastructure that can strengthen trust in financial services, business transactions and cross-border trade.

Speaking on the theme, “Digital Identity as National Infrastructure: Powering Ghana’s Economic Transformation through Trust, Technology and Inclusive Growth,” Mr Baiden argued that its value extended beyond the issuance of physical cards.

“Digital identity is not a card. It is infrastructure,” he said, emphasising the importance of authentication, governance and interoperability in enabling trusted transactions across sectors.

He linked reliable identity verification to Africa’s trade finance deficit, which continues to constrain businesses seeking to expand and participate in domestic and international commerce.

The African Development Bank’s 2025 Trade Finance Report estimates that unmet demand for trade finance in Africa stood between US$74 billion and US$92 billion in 2024, with the gap potentially exceeding US$100 billion by 2027 under a moderate-to-severe scenario.

Mr Baiden said trusted verification systems could help ease some barriers to financial and commercial transactions by supporting customer due diligence, regulatory compliance and remote onboarding. He acknowledged, however, that digital identity alone could not close the financing gap, which is also driven by foreign-exchange shortages, limited bank financing and lenders’ appetite for risk.

He further highlighted the connection between identity verification and digital financial services, particularly mobile money and digital lending.

“Mobile Money Is Not A Payments Story. It is an identity story,” he said, arguing that secure verification was fundamental to the growth of these services.

Ghana’s national identity ecosystem, developed by Margins ID Group in partnership with the National Identification Authority, has integrated more than 20 million people and 262 institutions. Participating institutions can verify individuals against the shared infrastructure rather than developing separate verification systems. The Ghana Card Personal Identification Number (PIN), linked to biometric and demographic records, serves as a persistent identifier within the ecosystem.

Mr Baiden said the system’s wider economic value depended on secure and effective use across sectors, supported by sound governance, interoperability and long-term sustainability.

Margins ID Group’s work in The Gambia demonstrates how Ghana’s identity technology is being applied beyond its domestic market.

The company is also involved in engagements relating to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, reflecting wider interest in identity infrastructure across African countries.