This study examines the effects of outward-oriented trade policies on economic growth in Africa. The econometric methodology follows the cross-country studies by Barro (1991), Chen (2006) and Kandiero and Chitiga (2006) with empirical application to a panel data of 36 African countries observed over the period of 1980-2009. The pooled regressions are carried out using the fixed effects model. The results illustrate that both openness and share of agricultural labor are positively linked with economic growth significantly. Foreign aid, gross national savings, and investment on the other hand have negative relationships to both GDP growth and GDP. However, if combined with degree of openness, then gross national savings and investment indicate a positive relationship to GDP growth. Using South Africa as the benchmark, the regional results indicate that North Africa is the best performer in generating positive GDP growth from foreign direct investment and foreign aid, followed by the Middle Africa whilst East Africa and West Africa compete for the third and forth positions.