Over the past decade, Africa has made significant strides in economic development with GDP growth rates among the highest in the world. Rapid urbanisation, increased consumer spending power and investments are just some of the reasons to be optimistic about the future of the Internet in the region.

Today, roughly one third of the African population has access to the Internet. While the rate of Internet penetration is lower than other regions, Africa is quickly bridging the gap. Internet capacity growth rates in the continent were the highest in the world last year with bandwidth growing 41% between 2014 and 2015.

And as the Internet expands across Africa, it has become a launch pad for a new generation of digital entrepreneurs – from online retailers in Nigeria to text messaging and smartphone apps in Mozambique. Despite a slow start, digital development in Africa is now accelerating.

While all this is good news, there is still a long way to go in getting all Africans connected. This is not another commentary on why we need to expand Internet access in Africa because by now, most of you are reading this article online and will know the incredible benefits that the Internet can bring to people everywhere.

This is a commentary on HOW we can expand Internet access in Africa.

Infrastructure, investment, collaboration

The first critical step is infrastructure. Innovation and ideas can't take flight without the infrastructure for the Internet to run on. Without investment in infrastructure to reach currently uncovered areas –the number of Internet users will not rise above a certain level.

For many countries in Africa, mobile networks are the best option for providing Internet access quickly and cost effectively, given the deployment difficulty of fixed infrastructure. In fact, the number of mobile broadband connections in Africa is expected to reach one billion in 2020, up from 147 million at the end of 2014.

While mobile broadband is the best option for offering Internet access, it still requires infrastructure. And infrastructure can't be built without investment (critical step #2). Some governments, such as those in Senegal and Kenya have committed to investing in the infrastructure needed to offer broadband Internet access. But the investment required for connectivity projects is substantial and governments can't do it alone, so they have turned to private sector companies as an important source of infrastructure investment.

Another challenge to increase Internet access in Africa is to make it relevant to the newcomers. The next generation of Internet users will not be the same as the current ones. They might not speak English or French. They might not be interested in the services that the Internet offers. Thus, there need to be applications and content in the local languages that they speak and new services should emerge to address their needs.

Which brings me to the third critical step, which is collaboration. Multiparty or "multistakeholder" collaboration among countries and between the public sector, private sector, and citizens is critical in getting investments to build infrastructure. And getting the public and private sectors to invest and collaborate around Internet use is a crucial role of government.

Regulatory policy decisions have a huge impact on infrastructure investment. Governments can play a big role in extending connectivity and mobile coverage by putting the right policies in place to create the right environment for encouraging infrastructure projects. Governments can also create the environment for the private sector to innovate and create the e-services that Africans need.

For example, the government of Senegal identified telecommunications as a priority for economic growth. As a result of putting the right policies in place, the country has international Internet access through fiber-optic undersea cables and is now a communications hub in West Africa delivering connectivity to neighboring countries such as Mali, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania.

Setting up a regulatory framework can create huge opportunities not only for economic growth and innovation, but for improved Internet access. Currently there are many countries in Africa that still don't have regulations in place to expand access.

We must fight for the opportunities the Internet can bring to Africa and we must urge governments to introduce policies to improve infrastructure and coverage. Only then will the possibilities of using the Internet to transform education, health and other services, creating jobs and and transforming lives in the process – become a reality.

* By Dawit Bekele, Africa Regional Bureau Director, Internet Society