Located some sixty kilometres from Abidjan, the logistics centre is constructed on an 18,000 m² plot of land acquired by MOBILITAS in 2019. It consists of offices and workspaces for local teams as well as three depots adapted to the group’s core activities: 1,000 m³ are dedicated to removals, 2,000 m² to records management and 3,600 m² to storage facilities. And that’s not all: the new site comes with a 5,000 m² outdoor parking area for shipping containers and trucks and operations and can be expanded onto a 6,000 m² adjacent plot of land if required.

Technology at the service of customers

To serve the best interests of clients, the premises has been designed to be on the cutting edge of technology. The removals division, the historical activity of AGS Côte d’Ivoire, uses specific packaging material appropriate for the protection of its clients’ personal effects, with 35 different products, for example.

The records management division has a storage capacity of nearly one million boxes. Fully racked and equipped storage facilities allow for the secure and confidential management of client data, separate sorting and digitisation rooms optimise the digitisation of client documents, and secure document destruction solutions have also been incorporated. Additionally, the site is ISO 9001 certified, which guarantees the control of business processes and infrastructure security.

Finally, the warehousing division provides AGS clients with a modular space of between 1000 and 3000 m² as well as handling, management and remote-control services for client stocks and flows.

Côte d’Ivoire, the cornerstone of AGS in Africa

In total, 63 employees and more than 20 physical and digital records management trainees work on the new site. For Country Manager Guillaume Dehem, “the exceptional investment that the group has made in Côte d’Ivoire is a continuation of what we have learnt here over the past 30 years”. “The new facilities appear to be the “largest company in the region,” underlined Sylvestre Toppé, representative of the mayor of Yaou. “We are very moved because we never thought that in our commune, and particularly in Yaou, we would celebrate such a great achievement.”

Since 1993, AGS Côte d’Ivoire has been the group’s incubator for the entire African continent. “The country has been, and remains, the base, the foundation on which the group has relied to innovate and develop in all African countries. It has taught us everything,” assured Paul Massardier in his inaugural speech. “We have applied what we have learned here to the whole of the continent.”

Looking to the future with the heritage division

The group’s vice president quoted President Felix Houphouët Boigny: “A miracle, like a gamble, is prepared, planned, measured, decided upon and achieved through willpower and perseverance,” to compare the evolution of the country with that of the AGS Group in Côte d’Ivoire.

With a turnover exceeding 2 billion FCFA in 2021, it is evident that many clients from various sectors (banking, insurance, industry, services, public administration, etc.) have placed their trust in AGS Côte d’Ivoire. In total, the branch has stored more than 200,000 boxes of archives and scanned more than 3 million pages for all its clients.

And AGS Côte d’Ivoire does not intend to stop there. The branch is already positioning itself for the future with the development of the heritage division, which is designed to provide solutions for the preservation and enhancement of heritage.

To take advantage of the state of the art removals, storage and records management service offered by AGS Côte d’Ivoire, contact Country Manager Guillaume Dehem at guillaume.dehem@ags-globalsolutions.com.

It was pure luck! In 1998, I was a student at HEC business school in Paris and I had the opportunity to take a gap year in Burkina Faso to lecture in a training centre. At the end of this trip, I returned to France, completed my degree, and decided to return to Burkina Faso to find a position for my end-of-studies internship. When I got there, I asked the French embassy for a list of French companies and sent my application to the company at the top of the alphabetised list: AGS Moving Company. Coincidentally, the group was urgently looking for someone to manage sales at the branch. I passed the interview and started two days later, in August 2000.

Was this a VIE contract?

No, initially I was doing an internship to complete my degree, then I had to do my compulsory military service, which I elected to do as national service in a French company, so I continued at AGS. When compulsory service was abolished in 2001, the VIE scheme was introduced. I was one of the very first VIEs in France and in the group. I was part of the first wave.

How did the VIE go?

It was a continuation of what I had done during my internship. I was a VIE for 24 months, which allowed me to spend a total of 3.5 years in Burkina and complete my training as an assistant manager on site. I had a brilliant branch manager who let me handle files on my own and gave me many opportunities. I acquired all the necessary tools to run the business and soon moved on to become the AGS Benin branch manager in 2003. It was an incredible one-year adventure.

And you moved up the corporate ladder.

Yes, afterwards I got the opportunity to manage a larger branch, in Ghana, where I stayed for six years, from 2004 to 2010. I trained three other VIE employees during this period. In 2010, the Mobilitas Group gave me the opportunity to move to Cape Town, South Africa to manage operations in Africa, and later, to manage Africa and the Middle East. In 2014, I was detached to Ivory Coast on a unique group project.

Can you tell us more about this project?

The 2003 political crisis in Ivory Coast had pushed the African Development Bank to leave its historical headquarters in Abidjan and move to Tunis. In 2013, the bank decided to return to the Ivorian capital along with some 2 000 staff members. It was the first time AGS had dealt with such a large-scale move on the continent, and they wanted someone on the ground who could take on the challenge. I arrived in Ivory Coast in 2014 and I am still here; the workload still requires my presence. In a few months, we will be moving to our new facilities, an incredible logistics and document management platform built by the group.

Apart from being a real professional springboard, what can the AGS VIE experience offer young recruits?

It’s a solid professional experience in a group that has been in operating for over 40 years. You learn to evolve in a new environment, you experience real challenges daily, and you quickly take on substantial responsibilities. Many AGS managers are former VIEs who benefited from the professional springboard that the programme offers. The proof is in the pudding: 20 years later, I’m still here, even though I knew nothing about the group’s business. It’s a real opportunity.

As part of the MOBILITAS Group, giving young people a chance is in the AGS DNA. The MOBILITAS Group supports the Volontariat International en Entreprise (VIE) In partnership with Business France. In total, nearly 350 people have already benefited from this scheme. To find out more about the VIE, visit the Business France website.

Organised by the French Forces in the Ivory Coast, the concert was intended to collect donations for the benefit of “Terre Fraternité”. The association supports wounded soldiers and their relatives by helping them to reintegrate and transition back into civilian life as well as assisting them with psychological and sports-related activities. It also assists families of fallen servicemen and provides for orphans.

The Port-Bouët military camp was turned into a concert venue and hosted Magic System, one of the most popular Ivorian groups in West Africa. The event raised nearly € 40,000 in donations. AGS Côte d’Ivoire has contributed 1,500,000 CFA francs (approximately €3,000).

An initiative of two rugby fans, the CRAC was founded in 2015 and aims to promote rugby in Côte d’Ivoire and more broadly in Africa. At its inception, the club had six registrants. A year later, more than one hundred children were registered and about twenty adults were involved in the organisation and supervision of the club activities.

In 2016, Emmanuel Henao, one of the founders of the club, decided to organise a national tournament to bring together all the rugby schools in the country. The event gained popularity and became successful quickly. It has since expanded and brings together more participants and partners every year.

More than 900 young people aged 6 to 18, including 250 girls took part in this year’s tournament. The development of women’s rugby is part of CRAC’s ambitions. As Emmanuel Henao explains, women’s rugby is a great opportunity to promote Ivorian rugby internationally.

Young Ivorians’ enthusiasm for this sport is a positive indication of upcoming matches for rugby fans.

Sponsored by our local team led by Guillaume Dehem, the event helped to welcome, feed and host almost 600 young rugby players, boys and girls, between the ages of 6 and 15.

The day was a beautiful celebration of rugby and was focused on sharing and sportsmanship.
AGS Movers Ivory Coast (and the entire AGS Group) is proud to participate in the development of rugby in Côte d’Ivoire and to have contributed to this wonderful organization!

In stark contrast to some gloomy attitudes towards Africa expressed in the early 1990s, AGS recognised Africa’s importance to the global economy, as a leading resources supplier and a young population.

AGS is proud to have played an integral role for over a quarter of a century in improving accessibility to African growth markets, by delivering high-quality mobility services to professionals and their families arriving in and travelling from this dynamic continent.

The first AGS branch in Africa opened in 1992 in the Ivory Coast, and within 22 years new branches were established in a further 47 countries on the continent.

The Africa54 vision

In 2014 the AGS Group launched our ‘Africa 54’ project, committed to achieving 100% network coverage of Africa in 2016. Unwavering dedication has enabled the AGS Group to continue expanding our network of subsidiary branches to all 54 countries in Africa: a historic and unique first for a privately-owned company!

We look forward to celebrating this milestone through high-profile events in Johannesburg (20 September 2016), Paris (27 September 2016) and London (29 September 2016).

This will be a celebration of the 25 years’ presence of the AGS Group in Africa, as well as of the complete coverage it offers its customers throughout the world for their mobility to or from Africa. This is through a unique, consistent and reliable service: an answer that is both local and global.

To follow AGS’ Africa54 news, please visit www.agsmovers.com/africa54

This committee was made official at the beginning of 2010, and is part of senior management’s aspiration to make the Mobilitas group and its brands a leader in professional excellence and a model of social responsibility.

2010 Assessment Report

The Committee’s review of 2010 highlights a very positive image of the Group globally, in spite of difficulties locally.
These difficulties are mainly due to social issues or (sometimes violent) crises, especially in Africa. The need for complete information from partners concerning issues or crises has been underlined, and this process will need to be developed.

Maintaining the highest level of quality

The efforts made in gaining and maintaining professional qualifications or certifications still bear fruit.
This demonstrates our desire to offer all of our partners (clients, agents, suppliers) a very high level of quality in the services we provide.
Of note is the trial that was conducted by AGS Movers London this year to obtain the ISO 27001 certification, and to www the strength of our information system and data protection compliance.

Teams are extremely devoted to their customers.

The unfailing commitment of our managers and staff to the benefit of their clients has been demonstrated, particularly in African countries in crisis. For instance, Gérard Machetel of AGS Movers Niger, and his team, made the repatriation of expatriates’ personal belongings possible, following the kidnappings of foreign workers in the region, including Arlit, a particularly vulnerable site.

Likewise, Branch Manager Frédéric Gros and his team in the Ivory Coast spared no effort in Abidjan, when they moved threatened families or stored their belongings in secure premises, in spite of very real risks.

UN Global Compact adherence and partnership with Planète Urgence.

In the social arena, AGS is particularly proud to be the first removals company to adhere to the UN’s Global Compact. Within this framework, AGS develops small, local projects under the initiative of its managers.

Likewise, the committee noted a positive appreciation of the Group’s partnership with the NGO, Planète Urgence. Through tree planting projects in Asia and Africa, the Group’s environmental footprint is reduced. Clients benefit from a positive association with this initiative, as a tree is planted for each of their expatriates’ international moves. This is in line with our vision to respect the environment and meet our partners’ expectations in this regard.

OBJECTIVES FOR 2011

The aim in 2011 will be to involve co-workers and partners in activities that reflect ethical and professional conduct.

Ethics and professional conduct charter

Boosted by the past year’s experience, and taking geographical expansion and the business diversification of the Group into consideration, it has been agreed to refocus Mobilitas’ values in the form of an Ethics and Professional Conduct Charter.
The Committee’s objective is to complete and circulate the charter by June 2011, when the interim review meeting takes place.

Improve information

To better serve our customers, the communication of information will be improved, particularly in the area of delays that are beyond the Company’s control.
Likewise, the Committee wants colleagues and partners to be more closely associated with the Group’s social initiatives. This starts with communication and the online publishing of this report.

Partnership with Planète Urgence

This partnership will be strengthened and optimised. The Committee has agreed to combine the Group’s several agreements with Plantète Urgence into one, to improve project management efficiency. As a result, the project will also have better visibility to clients and partners in terms of the number of trees planted in the “1 move = 1 tree” initiative. The results of the project will be available online.

Sustainable and fair development

Following a strategic planning session, the Group decided to launch the “Africa 2015” project in which AGS will play a major role in Mobilitas becoming the first company established across the entire continent.
The Committee noted with satisfaction that, true to its values, the Group will lead this international project in a responsible and balanced manner. A large portion of the staff will be recruited locally, and a significant investment will be made through training.

In closing, the Committee concluded that the entire Group, and AGS in particular, can be proud of its collective and individual corporate social responsibility activities.

Mr Alain Boulnois
Chairman of the Ethics and Professional Conduct Committee