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The study examines the synergy between foreign direct investment and economic growth in a panel of seven selected sub-Saharan African countries, which are fast-growing and have high nominal GDP, over the period 1985–2022. The study employs the Westerlund error correction model (ECM) panel cointegration tests and a dynamic common-corrected estimator to control for cross-sectionaldependence in the model. In theory, foreign direct investment increases domestic production capacity, resulting in an anticipated improvement in trade and economic growth. The panel analysis reveals that economic growth is positively impacted by foreign direct investments. While the fixed effect controls for unobserved and time effects, the alternative method controls for cross-sectional dependence. Trade openness was used as a proxy to measure the potential effect of free trade in the countries under analysis. The results show that trade openness and trade share of GDP play a positive role in improving economic growth through foreign direct investment in the panel analysis. In order to gain more insights into the performance of regional economies and treaties, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), it is recommended that a multidimensional analysis that includes the effect of country-specific institutional variables on attracting FDI, as well as the inclusion of more countries into the panel, unpack more insights into the relationship between FDI and GDP in sub-Saharan African countries.