The writer’s friend, a native of Africa (6)
I believe the answer is:
impala
'native of africa' is the definition.
(type of antelope native to Africa)
'the writer's friend a' is the wordplay.
'the writer's' becomes 'Im' ('I am' referring to the writer of the clue).
'friend' becomes 'pal' (pal can mean a friend).
'im'+'pal'+'a'='IMPALA'
(Other definitions for impala that I've seen before include "'African antelope, takes great leaps (6)'" , "game animal" , "Big game" , "Leaping antelope" , "graceful African runner" .)