An Auckland company providing tuition for high-tech smart-phone users is going global after securing contracts worth up to $50 million in Brazil and Australia.

Mobile Mentor this month raised almost $2 million in investment capital to fund expansion into the UK, US and Asia following two earlier rounds that each generated several hundred thousand dollars for international development.

Chief executive Denis O'Shea said funding from local investors was necessary despite gaining multi-million dollar contracts as the money came in slowly over several years.

"We need cash up-front to establish and build overseas operations," Mr O'Shea said.

"Mobile Mentor began with a three-year Vodafone New Zealand contract in 2005 and last year we signed a five-year $50 million deal with one of Brazil's biggest mobile companies.

"We appointed an Australia CEO a year ago and started work with Telstra in October, running a six-month trial in Sydney until April. They signed a five-year contract with us two weeks ago. Our latest investment capital round will fund our biggest expansion yet."

Originally from Ireland, Mr O'Shea worked for Nokia throughout Europe and moved to New Zealand in 1992. He studied at a Swiss business school for three years before returning to Auckland and starting Mobile Mentor in 2004.

"I talked to people about issues they had with mobile phones and how they used them," he said. "Many just wanted to sit down with someone for an hour's instruction on how to understand and operate them.

"Top-end mobiles are now extremely complex and are approaching the same level as laptops - more businesspeople going on a trip are taking phones because they are so compact.

"They perform all the on-line functions, even banking. They send and receive e-mails, can open attachments, surf the Net, play music and take and transmit photographs. Top models provide a address book, calendar and full messaging services.

"New tools include navigation instructions for drivers and mobiles will soon be used as a swipe card like eftpos to make small purchases. Future models will be better and faster than we can imagine.

"Demand is growing and we are getting more than 1000 new owners a month, mostly medium to top-level business people from corporates, SMEs and government."

Mobile Mentor employs 110 staff in New Zealand, Australia and Brazil.