Abstract. Research and Development (R&D) expenditure in most African countries is low. This study investigates the impact of R&D on economic performance of 23 African countries between 1995 and 2014. It also compares selected Africa countries with 25 countries across South America, Asia and Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A new growth model, incorporating R&D, was estimated with two-stage least squares (2SLS) fixed and random effect panel regression. The results show that R&D enhances real output in Africa with elasticity of 0.01%. Other regressors such as investment, savings and labour also enhance output performance with elasticities of 0.39%, 0.05%, and 0.35%, respectively. There were variations across estimations involving other regions. African countries need to provide adequate funding for research and mobilize domestic resources through savings and investment to become growth pillars.