Kwekwe to the geographical centre of the country, Kwekwe is also strategically located within the Midlands metropolitan area. Kwekwe, together with Gweru, Munyati, Kadoma and Redcliff form a single customer base for local commercial enterprises. As elsewhere in Zimbabwe, a high proportion of the population depends on the informal sector, possibly more than half of the population. Many self-employed miners carry out illegal digging work just north of the city, panning for gold, one of the most lucrative sources of income. Other residents engage in less strenuous work as cobblers, carpenters, TV and radio repairmen, and vendors selling anything from onions
Kwekwe Shungu High School is located about 16 km from Kwekwe. It is a Catholic run school. The middle-class suburbs close to the city centre have Kwekwe High School and Goldridge College, plus the primary schools including Goldridge Primary School, Fitchlea Primary School, Kwekwe Junior High School and Globe & Phoenix Primary School, Maryward Primary School and Sally Mugabe Primary School. There is almost one primary school for about four sections of the high density areas Kwekwe Polytechnic is the only tertiary education institution in Kwekwe. Sable Chemicals and ZISCO Steel run apprenticeship programs with the polytechnic and with other universities