Mustapha Salaudeen is the only Nigerian and African recognised by The Learning Guild’s prestigious Thirty Under 30 programme

When Mustapha Salaudeen received the news that he had been named to The Learning Guild’s Thirty Under 30 honourees, it was beyond a mere personal milestone for him. It was a validation of a journey that began in Nigeria and has since spanned continents, industries, and the rapidly evolving world of workplace learning.

The Learning Guild, a global community of learning and development professionals, recently announced its Thirty Under 30 cohort for 2026, recognising young professionals driving innovation and making meaningful contributions to the future of workplace learning. Mustapha, an Independent learning consultant who has supported multinational organisations including Sky and worked on learning campaigns powered by Google, amongst other achievements, stands out as the only Nigerian and the only African on the prestigious list. “It’s a validation I’d long waited for; validation that I can do it too, that certain positions are not barricaded against me, and that I can inspire the next person to keep at what they believe in,” Salaudeen shared in a recent social media post following the announcement.

Salaudeen’s path to this recognition is anything but conventional. He began his career as a visual artist and designer, later trained as a scientist, and worked as a classroom teacher before moving into learning experience design. This multidisciplinary background, spanning visual design, science, education, and digital learning innovation, now informs his work at Sky, where he creates impactful, multimedia-driven learning experiences for a global workforce.

In his current capacity, Mustapha continues to shape the future of workplace learning, applying his expertise in learning innovation and the psychology behind engagement to develop solutions that are both human-centred and effective.

The recognition from The Learning Guild came off the back of significant accomplishments across multiple organisations. At Sky, Salaudeen led a high-stakes workplace learning campaign that influenced workforce capability building on a global scale. Through partnership with Upskill Universe, he led the redesign of a Google-powered training campaign for Sub-Saharan African policymakers, work that aligns with a broader programme that has trained over 18,000 SMEs since its inception.

His personal project, Listening Trivia, has sparked conversations about learning engagement and assessment, while his non-profit engagement with AI for Global Education (AIGE), a UK-based charity, has seen him leading the development of an AI literacy curriculum for higher education. This course series currently benefits 58 institutions across 14 countries.

For Salaudeen, the recognition carries a responsibility beyond personal achievement. “To be recognised as one of only 30 people under the age of 30 making giant strides in learning design and technology is not just an achievement for me,” he said. “It is a validation I’d long waited for.”

As AI and digital transformation reshape how businesses win and how careers are built across the continent, voices like Salaudeen’s are becoming increasingly vital. His work sits at the intersection of behaviour, design, and technology, a blend that represents the future of learning and development worldwide, with particular relevance for Africa and emerging markets.  

The Thirty Under 30 programme will culminate at DevLearn in November, where Salaudeen will join fellow honourees in Las Vegas to celebrate the next generation of learning leaders. For now, he continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in learning design, proving that barriers, as he puts it, “are walls made up in one’s own mindset. They don’t exist, not really.”