[FIXED] change the first occurrence in a pandas column based on certain condition

Issue

so I would like to change the first number in the number column to +233 given the first number is 0, basically I would like all rows in number to be like that of row Paul Both columns are string objects.

Expectations: The first character of the values in the column named df["numbers"] should be replaced to "+233" if only == "0"

df = pd.DataFrame([[ken, 080222333222], 
                   [ben, +233948433], 
                   [Paul, 0800000073]], 
                   columns=['name', 'number'])`

Solution

Hope I understood your edition, try this: Notice - I removed the first 0 and replaced it with +233

import pandas as pd
df = pd.DataFrame([["ken", "080222333222"], ["ben", "+233948433"], ["Paul", "0800000073"]], columns=['name', 'number'])


def convert_number(row):
    if row[0] == '0':
        row = "+233" + row[1:]
    return row

df['number'] = df['number'].apply(convert_number)

print(df)

Answered By - Tomer S