Boosting economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa was dependent, to a large extent, on expanding infrastructure investments, improving the investment climate, harnessing skills for innovation and building institutional capacity across the continent, a World Bank study released in Tokyo argues.

The study set out to establish opportunities and options for growth available to a range of African countries, determine constraints to exploiting the opportunities and, the strategic choices to be made by African governments and development partners, including the World Bank, in supporting actions taken by African countries.

It highlighted what it saw as the most critical areas demanding action if Africa was to make up for the missing two decades of global growth or replicate the growth models that had lifted millions of people out of poverty.

"The last ten years have seen renewed growth and improved governance across a number of African states, setting the stage for taking advantage of opportunities that are emerging from a rapidly changing world economy," said Gobind Nankani, the World Bank's vice president for the Africa region.

The study pointed to inequalities as having a major influence on the efficacy of growth in reducing poverty and reported that there was a need for greater attention to poverty reduction in complementing the impact of accelerating growth.

High levels of age dependency were citied as having created fiscal and household pressures as an overwhelming number of young had to be cared for.

Capital flight from Africa had made a dire situation worse, the study said.

In 1990, it was estimated that Africans held up to $360-billion, or 40% of their wealth, outside Africa.

Its findings recommended prudent management of rents from resources and the need for countries to look beyond creating conditions for attracting new investors, to measures that helped raise productivity of existing and new investments.

The study held that the continent was capable of regaining the pace of robust growth it experience between 1960 and 1973 and urged African countries to create the right conditions to benefit from opportunities offered by the growing global economy and by information-based technology.

Key among the conditions was the need to lower indirect costs that seriously constrained export-led growth, investment in skills and supporting innovation to spur productivity and competitiveness.

"In Africa, the costs of contract enforcement difficulties, inadequate infrastructure, crime, corruption and regulation can amount to over 25% of sales or more than three times what firms typically pay in taxes," World Bank advisor Benno Ndulu explained.