Digital fnance plays a major role in improving access to, usage and quality of fnancial services in developing countries. The use of these platforms has been associated with a positive impact on economic growth and people’s welfare. They allow for convenient, secure, and efcient transaction and are the crucial element of e-commerce. In this paper, we analyse the efect of mobile network coverage on adoption of fnancial technologies and fnancial inclusion using a survey data of 12,735 individuals from nine sub-Saharan African countries conducted in 2017. By combining survey data with information on the proximity of mobile network towers, we estimate a two-stage model. In the frst stage, consumers decide to adopt a technology device, and in the second stage, they decide whether to use digital fnancial services or not. Results show a signifcant and positive relationship between network coverage and adoption of digital fnancial services. Considering that the whole population lives within 2 km radius from the LTE tower, fnancial inclusion would increase by 6% in Mozambique and 3% in Ghana, Rwanda and Senegal. In Tanzania, where mobile money is the common fnancial service, investment in GSM and UMTS would have a larger impact on fnancial inclusion than LTE. These results show that digital fnancial technologies such as mobile money, mobile banking and e-wallet, that do not necessarily require consumers to be connected to the Internet have a greater impact on fnancial inclusion in East African countries, where fnancial service innovations are mobile led. However, in countries where digital fnancial innovations are bank led, LTE coverage have a greater impact than GSM and UMTS coverage. The fndings of this study can help policy-makers to understand the issues related to the expansion of digital fnancial services and efective strategies to deliver these services to the poor

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