Regional integration has been at the helm of the African Union (AU)’s development approach since 1980 when this was enshrined in the Lagos plan of Action, with a view to integrating the Continent into a pan-African political unity and industrialization. This study has tried a two way examination to see not just how national policies align with the regional protocols, but also how the regional reference has influenced these and vice versa. It appears from the research that none of the fifty-four ECOWAS conventions and protocols directly addresses financing and investment. However, the ECOWAS new legal regime stepped from conventions and protocols to supplementary acts to the revised Community Treaty. Many of these supplementary acts and the ECOWAS principle to capitalize on the rules of its subjects like the WAEMU or the WAMZ provide provisions for financing, investment and debt management.
