Why has growth failed to touch Africa?

During the 19th Century Africa dramatically fell behind in income and life expectancy and moving on to the 20th Century, Africa fell further. Africa experienced a fleeting boom from 1950 to 1980 in terms of GDP per head, which was short lived when Africa slowly declined into the 1980s. Many factors must be analysed as to why growth has failed to sustain in Africa, the main points that I will be studying include fractionalisation which can be seen as the levels of difference between the many ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious groups which are abundant throughout Africa. I will also study the foundation of African economics; Agriculture, and how it was affected by the implication of trade and economic policies such as import substitution industrialisation - a policy advocating replacement of foreign imports with domestic production. My final point will analyse how geography has affected growth and I will tie in the inefficient transport systems in place in Africa. Once analysing these factors it is clear that the reason growth has failed to touch Africa cannot be attributed to one factor but must be based on the accumulation of interlinking factors.