Abstract

Abstract: This study explores how FinTech and education have shaped business competitiveness. FinTech helps with efficient cost management and satisfying customer experience through digital payments. It also determines competitiveness through innovation and risk management. As a moderator of education, it moderates education’s behavior through expanding financial literacy and by connecting human capital to the digital financial system. In this way, it assures sustainable business projects. This study has considered Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries between 2010 and 2022. Using Panel Quantile Regression along with Feasible Generalized Least Squares and Driscoll-Kraay methods, the analysis shows that, initially, education promotes business competitiveness but, after a particular threshold, further increase in education hinders business competitiveness. Here, FinTech plays a dual role. As a determinant, it diminishes sustainability in business competitiveness but, when combined with education, it enhances competitiveness by strengthening financial literacy and supporting green financing. Population density and inflation also push competitiveness upward while actual interest rates hold it back. BRI countries were chosen as the sample because they are emerging in nature and fast-growing economies. Due to their emerging features, education, technology, and finance are in a concentration that led to sustainability in organizational performance.