If you've decided your first serious piece will be by a living African artist, you're entering one of the most undervalued surfaces in the global market — but also one of the least documented.
Start with provenance, not price. Ask the gallery for the artist's exhibition record (a CV with at least one institutional show), edition documentation if the work is editioned, and a condition report. Cross-reference the studio on the artist's own channels — a Lagos or Nairobi studio with no online footprint is a yellow flag, not a red one, but it changes the diligence you do next.
Then negotiate. Galleries in emerging markets quote retail; primary-market discounts of 10–15% are normal if you commit to placement.