20 July 2011
The lieutenant governor of Florida, Jennifer Carroll, will lead a Florida business mission to South Africa in November, organizers announced.
Carroll, the state’s first black woman lieutenant governor, will head the trip slated for Nov. 4 through 13 to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth.
South Africa is Florida’s top export market in Africa. It serves as a gateway to business with the African continent. As a member of the five-nation South African Customs Union, it offers immediate access to an area with more than 57 million residents combined. Efforts to create a free trade accord with East African neighbors represent an opportunity for boost access to 26 countries with more than 500 million people.
Carroll has a business background. She holds an MBA from St. Leo University and with her husband, owned a public relations and franchising business. She also has served in the US Navy specializing in aviation maintenance, was a state legislator for more than seven years and was director of the Florida Dept. of Veterans affairs. A former model, she was born on the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean.
Her trip comes as Florida seeks to become Africa’s business gateway to the United States and Latin America.
The Republican administration led by Gov. Rick Scott is keen on international business to boost jobs and business in the Sunshine State. He is leading a separate business mission in October to Brazil, Florida’s top trade partner by far.
Both business missions are organized by Enterprise Florida, the state’s economic development partnership.
For more information on the South Africa mission, contact Bryant Salter at Enterprise Florida at 305-808-3660 or email him at