With the recent boost of emerging economies in African economic relations, a different philosophy of development co-operation is progressively gaining momentum. There are critical differences in the way development co-operation is provided by traditional and emerging partners. For the latter, aid is only one element of a broader economic engagement toolbox. These new realties mark a qualitative change in the provision of development co-operation both in terms of sectoral allocation and modalities of delivery, which in turn impacts on outcomes as well as the challenges for the recipient countries. This paper evaluates concerns often raised in this respect (e.g. the lack of policy conditionality destroying Western efforts to promote better governance) and stresses that a new set of challenges is emerging for African governments.